Naruto: Captured
by EdStargazer
Summary: Naruto has failed the third attempt at his genin exam. Mizuki offers to pass him if he steals the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage Tower. Things go wrong and Naruto is captured in the act. Chapter 23 A Mission to Sand
1. Captured

I am not giving up on my main story, The Will Born in Fire but I am posting up the first chapter of another story that has been on my data stick for a few months now.  
As needed, I do not own Naruto, its characters or the fact that lately the manga should be named Sasuke due to the lack of use on its title character. The story idea is mine but I am willing to share if someone else gets inspired by this.  
The story is AU following events with Naruto failing the genin test for the third time.

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* * *

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Naruto: Captured

The Sandaime Hokage looked at the thief with a weary eye. The boy before him just had his head down and stood quietly in the grip of a pair of ANBU. He could not believe it had come to this. Barely two days before, the boy in front of him had painted the stone faces on the mountain and now he was captured trying to steal the most valuable scroll in Konoha.

"What am I going to do with you, Naruto?" the aged leader slowly said. "Why would you betray me and all of Konoha like this?"

Uzumaki Naruto looked up at the disappointed face of the one man who was important to him in the entire village. "But Mizuki-sensei said it was a make-up test. He told me if I could bring him the scroll I would become a genin."

The Hokage narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "You mean your teacher told you to do this?"

Naruto nodded, "I couldn't make a bunshin so I failed. He told me to pass a make up test I would have to sneak in here and take the big scroll. If I could do that and learn one jutsu on the scroll and show him that I could do it and he would pass me. Did I do something wrong?" The boy looked up with tears in his eyes as he realized from the look in the Hokage's face that he had in fact done something wrong. He had betrayed the trust of his most important person.

Sarutobi looked at the blonde boy again and saw the boy was telling the truth. He could not simply destroy the legacy of the Fourth based solely on him following the commands of a superior. But he did need to know for certain that the real criminal was captured.

"Naruto, you will wait here with these ANBU. I will go check on something. Where exactly did Mizuki tell you to wait for him?"

* * *

Mizuki chuckled as he headed for the meeting point. There had been no alarm sounded so the means the demon had not gotten caught. There had been no sign of any traps being sprung so the demon had to have opened the scroll safely. All that remained now was to gather up the item and kill the demon. This would surely buy his way into Orochimaru's graces once more. He looked down from his perch to see the blonde demon sitting and reading the open scroll. He chuckled before leaping down near the blonde.

"Good job, Naruto. You got the scroll I see. Very good job indeed. Now, just roll it up and back away," Mizuki told the blonde.

"But Mizuki-sensei, I managed to learn a technique like you told me to. Does that mean I get to be a genin now?"

Mizuki laughed, "You actually believed me? Kami, you are a stupid demon."

"Demon? Why are you calling me a demon, Mizuki-sensei?"

"Haven't you ever wondered why people shun you, Naruto? It is because you are responsible for the slaughter of so many 13 years ago. You are the Nine Tailed Fox trapped in human form! I am going to take that scroll and kill you now. I will have revenge for my family!" Mizuki screamed out.

The blonde did not look afraid or upset at Mizuki's outburst. In fact, he stood up and looked very disappointed. "You should really know better than that, Mizuki. But I think we have heard enough, would you not agree, Hokage-sama?"

"Indeed we have, Iruka, Indeed we have." Sarutobi stepped out from behind the building along with a team of ANBU. The blonde 'Naruto' puffed with chakra smoke revealing Naruto's other teacher, Iruka. Sarutobi spoke again, "You are under arrest, Mizuki. If you resist, these ANBU will strike you down. Cooperate and you might actually be free to see your fiancée Tsubaki again one day."

Mizuki paused hearing his betrothed's name and surrendered quietly. Sarutobi sighed and stood next to Iruka as the ANBU led off Mizuki.

"Now comes the hard part, Iruka. I have to decide what to do with Naruto. I appreciate your help in this matter and trust to your silence. I know Naruto has become important to you."

"Yes, he is, Hokage-sama. I had been out looking for him since I could get away from work. I was going to treat him to ramen since he failed his genin test. He tried so had but he cannot seem to make a bunshin. I could even see the effort and I could have sworn I saw chakra around him right before he did a badly deformed clone," Iruka said.

"Wait, you said you SAW chakra around the boy during his test?" Iruka nodded affirmatively. "But for chakra to be visible like that would indicate …" Sarutobi trailed off his statement as he looked back toward his office. "Iruka, come with me. I want to have you there when I talk to Naruto again."

Iruka nodded and followed as Sarutobi leapt back toward the Hokage Tower.

* * *

The ANBU stood watch over Naruto as the boy sat in his misery. The woman in the Cat mask was familiar to Naruto as she had been one of his many silent watchers over the years. He had tried to speak to them on occasion but they always shook their heads at him and indicated they were not permitted to speak to him before falling back into the shadows.

She sighed softly behind her mask as this was not a duty she would have liked at any time. She could clearly see the boy had great potential but somewhere along the line, something had gone wrong. She could sense chakra from him at a level a chunin would envy. She had filed reports often enough about the pranks he had pulled and his skills in planning and evasion were easily chunin level. She assumed no one felt the boy was worth the effort. It really was a shame.

The Hokage entered the meeting room followed by Iruka with some files. Cat nodded silently acknowledging Sarutobi's presence and moved to wait in the corner. Naruto looked up from where he sat and paled at seeing his primary instructor there as well. He flushed and tried to hide in his seat as Sarutobi sat and motioned for Iruka to sit as well.

"Naruto, what you told me earlier tonight was entirely correct. Mizuki himself did admit to telling you to come here and take the scroll. In this village, we do not lay the blame on the subordinates for following what they believe to be the legal orders of their superiors. Therefore, you are not to be charged with treason. You trusted Mizuki and he betrayed you. Naruto, I am disappointed in your actions but you have not betrayed my trust." Sarutobi smiled gently at Naruto. The boy smiled weakly and a few tears ran down his expressive face. 'Yes, he needed that reassurance. In spite of all his bravado, he is a fragile boy.'

Iruka opened the file with Naruto's name on it. "Naruto's grades in the Academy are definitely not the best, Hokage-sama. He has failed the exit examination three times now. He grades show him as poor in taijutsu, poor in ninjutsu, inadequate in genjutsu, poor on throwing weapons, inadequate in tracking and evasion, inadequate in stealth, poor in written work."

"Hmm, I thought Naruto was doing much better than that in his grades." Sarutobi glanced over at Naruto who wilted slightly under the glare.

"Begging the Hokage's pardon, "Cat spoke up. "Umino-san is incorrect in Uzumaki-san's ability in stealth, tracking and evasion. I personally have observed several of his 'pranks' and other ANBU would concur with me that for his training level, his rank should be 'outstanding'."

Sarutobi looked over at Cat, equal parts of concern and dismay at her information. "Are you sure, Cat?" he inquired.

"As I said, Hokage-sama, Uzumaki-san has shown outstanding ability in regards to stealth, tracking and evasion in his many dealings with the after-effects of his pranks. Normally, it takes a jonin or a half dozen chunin working in concert to corral him. We ANBU, who are assigned to observe him, remain away from such things as ordered by you. The sole exception to the trouble in capturing Uzumaki-san is Umino-san here. He can apprehend the boy on his own. We feel that it is a deliberate action on Uzumaki-san's part in those cases. There have even been cases where he has managed to elude his ANBU watchers for up to 5 minutes as well. He normally is quite aware of our presence nearby but rarely the exact location. We put that awareness to experience and some innate ability."

"Iruka, who is the person grading Naruto in the areas of stealth, tracking and evasion?"

"That would be Mizuki, Hokage-sama," Iruka responded.

"Cat, why is this the first I am hearing about such ability on behalf of Naruto?"

"It has been documented in many reports submitted by myself and others, Hokage-sama. We all assumed you knew and were not showing favoritism in regard to Uzumaki-san. His pranks cause ill-will for himself even if they are just attempts at attention."

Sarutobi frowned deeply and almost growled as he rose and stalked out of the office. He returned minutes later carrying several files, all labeled Uzumaki Naruto. He passed one to Cat and asked, "Is this one of your reports?"

Cat briefly scanned the report. It was regarding a prank by Naruto two weeks prior. "This is not the report I submitted, Hokage-sama. The general wording is mine but many details have been edited out and the amount of damage incurred has been altered. In this incident, only a single vendor's cart was touched, not a half dozen as the report states. There was no damage to the vendor's wares and this report states near complete destruction."

Sarutobi had a true frown on his face now. "Your reports all go through Koga-san, Cat?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"He is one of Danzo's former Root members. It seems several people are trying to get Naruto into bad graces all over. But one rabbit might have flushed one another out for me. Danzo has a standing request to have Naruto assigned to his training program. I have consistently forbidden such a thing. The Fourth would roll in his grave if I did that to Naruto."

Sarutobi sighed. "Cat, round up several of the others who have filed reports on Naruto whom you trust. In the morning, I want you all to go over all of your past reports filed on Naruto in my office over the past two years. I wish to know the truth on what they say against what you actually wrote."

"Naruto, tomorrow we are going to have all of your skills re-evaluated by people I trust in all the areas not taught by Iruka alone. Be back here at noon tomorrow."

"I'll escort Naruto home and bring him back here in the morning, Hokage-sama," Iruka offered.

Sarutobi just nodded. The teacher led his student out of the building. "Come stay at my house tonight, Naruto. Things are going ot be bad tomorrow and keeping a close eye on you might be the best thing right now."

"Why are things going to be bad, Ikura-sensei?" asked Naruto.

"Because some people have done the worst possible thing to do in Konoha, they intentionally lied to the Hokage. It also looks like they did the second worst as well."

"What is that?"

"They put it in writing."

* * *

Notes: This story is one of the dozen or so plot bunnies living in my head since I began my main story, The Will Born in Fire. The story is a tangent out of the main plotline in the very beginning. Naruto gets caught stealing the Forbidden Scroll. I cannot recall this plotline ever having been used so I hope not to make a great hash out of it. Many more twists will occur in this one so be warned it will be an AU like all of my stories.


	2. Discoveries

Chapter 2: Discoveries

Koga walked into his office to begin another boring day of work. Being a secretary in the Hokage Tower was not a glamorous job for a former ninja and Root agent but he could think of worse. At least the new Academy class graduating would mean he could funnel a few of the more promising of the true test failures to his master Danzo, and Root.

He saw a lower ranked secretary waiting there for him, behind his desk. "Ah, Koga-san. Hokage-sama is waiting for you to discuss your new job. I was assigned to take over your old job this morning. It seems you are being promoted."

Koga was surprised but pleased. He did work hard at his job. It was good to hear that his efforts would be rewarded. Smiling to himself, he hurried up the stairs to find out where his new position would be.

Koga arrived at the top of the Tower to wait for a few minutes before the Hokage's main secretary to usher him into the Hokage's office. He bowed before the Hokage and waited as Sarutobi pulled out a scroll and a pair of folders from his pile of paperwork. "Ah, Koga-san. I am glad you came up here so promptly. We have need of a quality man to fill a new position that just opened up in our liaison office with the Daimyo and your name was brought to my attention."

"I am flattered Hokage-sama. May I ask what the new position entails?"

"Of course. Just a moment." Sarutobi turned to his intercom. "Could you bring in that tea and coffee I had asked for earlier, Ume?"

"Of course Hokage-sama," the secretary replied in a pleasant voice.

Koga paid no attention to the door opening behind him. Suddenly, he stiffened as he lost all control of his movements. A blonde man wearing a jonin vest stepped in front of him and made a hand sign before his face. 'A Yamanaka! I must …'

"Ah, Inoichi, Shikaku, right on time. Inoichi, please have Koga-san be seen leaving the main gate toward the capital. I do not want Danzo and his cronies getting wind that one of his spies has been caught just yet. I will have the paperwork of his 'mission' filed immediately. Once Koga is seen leaving, get him to Ibiki as soon as you can."

* * *

Cat sat in the file room with 3 other masked ANBU operatives. The Hokage's secretary, Ume, had shown them the correct cabinet with reports that mentioned the Uzumaki boy. Dozens of incident reports filled 2 drawers in a single cabinet. Cat looked through the cabinet and pulled out the ones she had personally filed reports on. She glanced at the first one and shook her head as she saw the large amounts of editing that had been done to her report.

She took out a pad of paper and began to take notes. The file she was reading was on a stink bomb incident months before. The noxious substance Naruto had used did in fact cause a store to close while the air was blown out of the building. The owner had thrown Naruto out for simply asking how much something cost a day earlier. Cat distinctly recalled the foul odor and that is had done nothing beyond fouling the air.

But the damage report was severely inflated beyond closing the store. It showed that an acidic compound had been used and damaged a large portion of the man's wares. The Hokage office, being officially responsible for Naruto, had authorized payment to replace the damaged goods. Cat was impressed by the amount listed. She looked into several other prank cases and noticed in all cases that money was being paid out for damages that had never happened. She listed every amount on her pad.

The other operatives noticed what she was writing and began calling out the bogus damage payouts from their reports. After all the reports from the past two years alone were tallied, an impressive amount was listed. 'Wow, if he had actually done the damage these reports listed, we would not have a market district. There is enough money being siphoned out to pay several high level ninja a hefty salary,' Cat thought. 'This would not happen if the Hokage was not swamped by so many reports each day. Koga has been able to falsify reports for possibly years now. He is not living above the means for his position so the money is going somewhere else. That is something else for Ibiki to find out.'

Cat gathered her notes and set off for the Hokage's office. The secretary, Ume waved Cat directly in to see Sarutobi. Cat bowed then began her report.

"Hokage-sama, my fellows and I have examined many reports on Naruto's pranks over the last two years. Our preliminary finding are that a pattern of falsehood exists in the reports and that monetary damages being paid out by the Treasury exceed any real damage by a factor of 100 or more. In fact, from our own recollections, any damage actually incurred was more from people panicking than from malicious behavior on Naruto's part. Our knowledge of his pranks shows that they are intended to annoy and disrupt rather than hurt anyone or anything."

Sarutobi nodded slowly, "That last bit falls in line with Naruto's character. He is starved for attention and even negative attention is better than none. Koga will have a lot to answer for but we must move quickly. He will be missed soon. Cat, find Kakashi and tell him I need his old team for a secret mission. I will see him this afternoon once I have examined Naruto's performance."

* * *

Iruka walked in the training hall with Naruto as the Hokage waited with a pair of ANBU bodyguards. Iruka stepped up and bowed to the Hokage. Naruto did as well after a light tap by Iruka.

"Thanks you for allowing Naruto to demonstrate his skills for you, Hokage-sama," Iruka said.

Sarutobi smiled as he knew this would be less of a demonstration as a long embarrassment for the boy but it needed to be done "Naruto, I know this will be a long frustrating ordeal for you but it is needed to see what you know and where you have been taught incorrectly. First, run through the five standard katas of the Academy taijutsu."

Naruto looked lost for a moment before Iruka nudged him. "Your daily exercise forms, Naruto."

Naruto nodded and set himself into a stance but was immediately stopped by Sarutobi.

"What is that stance, Naruto?"

Naruto grinned. "It's what Mizuki-sensei had me do everyday. He said it was a special advanced form just for me while everyone else did the basic stuff." Naruto noticed the scowl on the old leaders face and realized something. Naruto's grin faded as he mumbled, "Its not, is it?"

"Do you remember the basic moves, Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"I think so Iruka-sensei." Naruto then went through what he remembered but he was awkward and off balance the whole time. Once the boy had finished, he stood quietly as Sarutobi looked on. The aged leader remained silent before nodding slowly.

"I have seen worse. Now for the three basic ninjutsu. Replacement, Transformation and Clone techniques. I am well aware of your skill with Transformation so we can skip that one. Using the full hand seal sequence you were taught, replace yourself with the bucket of water on the other end of the hall."

Naruto looked down, "It doesn't work for me if I use the whole sequence I was taught. I was using one I saw the teme, um, Sasuke use."

Sarutobi waved Naruto closer, "Show me the hand seals you were taught without applying chakra, Naruto."

Naruto stepped closer and slowly went through the seals. The ANBU, Bear, broke his silence with a mild curse. Sarutobi confused looked at Bear, "You recognized that sequence?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. If he used that sequence, he could make a Replacement technique work if he used a small amount of chakra. However, it is actually the sequence for a suicide technique designed to bury the user into the ground if captured."

Naruto paled at that was muttered, "I am glad I copied off the teme then."

Sarutobi frowned again but continued, "Now for the Clone technique, Naruto."

Naruto groaned at hearing that but did as ordered. He made the seals and focused but like in his genin test, he produced a single sickly looking clone.

Sarutobi rubbed his chin as Naruto looked downcast. "Naruto, I want you to try again for me, but do something different. Use the same amount of chakra but focus on making 50 clones, not just one."

Iruka and the ANBU all looked at the Hokage with puzzled looks but they turned back at Naruto to see the boy focus once more. When Naruto cast his jutsu the air around the boy shimmered and 50 clones of Naruto appeared. Iruka looked pole axed at the sight of so much orange. Sarutobi smirked and muttered, "I thought as much."

"Sir?" Iruka inquired.

"You told me you could see chakra around Naruto when he tried to make his Clone technique work. That means he was badly overloading it. ANBU, activate my privacy barrier seals on the hall. This next test would be felt clear outside the village without them if I am not mistaken."

The ANBU complied and the walls glowed with a dim blue glow.

"Naruto, this last test will be the most important of them all. You remember the exercises back in the first year of the Academy where you practiced pulling out chakra?"

The boy nodded.

Sarutobi continued, "Then I want you to generate as much chakra as you can using that method."

Naruto looked scared for a moment but stepped back. He made a single hand sign and held it as he focused. The boy began to glow blue as chakra swirled around him which quickly grew into a blue white sphere around him.

Sarutobi was awestruck at the pure light surrounding the youth. "Is that you maximum, Naruto?"

"Um, no. Last time I did this, Kara-sensei said I must be doing it wrong because no Academy student should be able to do this."

"No, you are doing it correctly, Naruto. Focus and pull it all out. We need to know how much chakra you have. Pull until it starts to feel different."

Naruto closed his eyes, concentrated harder and pulled. The orb around him glowed brighter still and doubled in size. The light was painful to look at and it continued for nearly a minute before dying down as Naruto tired himself out and fell to his knees.

Sarutobi stepped up to the boy and smiled. "That was very impressive, Naruto. Was that as much as you could make?"

"Well, I kept going until I started to feel sick to my stomach. After that I just held it there."

"Iruka, why don't you go take Naruto for that ramen you were going to buy him last night. I need to take care of a few things before I can render my verdict." Sarutobi pulled out a number of bills and handed them to Iruka. "It's on me this time."

The teacher and boy walked out and Sarutobi turned to face the masked ANBU. The two cloaked forms removed the masks and cloaks to reveal a pair of jonin, Tenzo and Sarutobi Asuma.

"The boy has no practical skills whatsoever at this point," Asuma pointed out. "His teacher, Mizuki, was trying to kill him and make it look like an accident. When he couldn't do that, he must have taught Naruto that flawed taijutsu. Another genin could easily kill him in a death match if he tried to fight with that."

"I agree," Tenzo said. "His chakra level is monstrous in amount but he has no control over it. Based on what he showed today, right now he stands in the top dozen in the history of Konoha in terms of pure chakra. It is scary to realize he is only a kid and nowhere near his potential."

Sarutobi nodded. "I hope you noticed he never tapped into the Kyuubi chakra at all. It was all his; one side effect of being its jailor. We cannot let him just go and be a civilian after this. Not with Danzo lurking out there waiting to try to claim him."

The aged leader paused, "But maybe that might be exactly what we want to happen. Asuma, remember back when you were a boy; all the trouble I had with weeds in our yard?"

The younger Sarutobi chuckled, "Yeah, it used to drive you crazy old man. They kept growing back no matter how many times you pulled them out."

"It took me getting a special herbicide to get rid of them. The weeds kept growing back because I could not get the whole root out. The herbicide ended up getting inside the weed and killing it all the way down to the roots. I am loathe to use him like this, but in this case, Naruto will be our herbicide. With a little luck, he will get drawn into it and destroy the entire Root for us."

* * *

Next Chapter: Releasing the Stalking Horse

* * *

End Notes: I finally got the second chapter of this fic done. For the longest time, I was not sure which direction I wanted to send it in. But, like all my best writing ideas, something came to me in a dream. This fic will be skewing wildly off canon very quickly. I hope it goes as planned anyhow.


	3. Releasing the Stalking Horse

**Releasing the Stalking Horse**

Naruto sat happily slurping down ramen noodles with Iruka looking on. The scarred teacher was amazed as always at how much ramen the boy could eat in one sitting. However, after seeing his performance at the Hokage's test earlier he knew how the boy could manage it. His system burnt through the calories and converted it to a massive amount of chakra. Apparently, being the container for the Kyuubi had a few unknown side effects on his body beyond the 'whiskers'.

'He is going to have gone through the money Hokage-sama gave in another 2 bowls. I had better get him to slow down.'

"Naruto, hold on a moment," Iruka spoke up to the blonde. "Do not forget your manners in front of Ayame. I know I taught you better than that."

Naruto paused and blushed heavily as he looked up sheepishly at the cook's daughter Ayame. The young woman smiled at Naruto and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry too much, Naruto. I know you're not doing it to be rude. At least you never spill or make a mess on the counter."

"No way!" Naruto exclaimed. "That would be wasting ramen!"

Both Iruka and Ayame chuckled at the blonde boy's seriousness about his ramen.

Naruto composed himself and ate at a more normal pace for two more bowls when Iruka spoke up again, "Its time to head back to Hokage-sama's office and find out his decision, Naruto."

Naruto paused before nodding and slowly stood up to leave.

Iruka loudly cleared his throat. Naruto just looked at Iruka confused until Iruka cleared his throat again and nodded his head towards Ayame. Naruto looked confused for another moment before blushing and stammering out a quiet Thank You to Ayame. The woman smiled warmly and bid the pair good bye as teacher and student headed off to meet with the Hokage.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen was suddenly feeling each of his 69 years as he looked at the earnest blonde bundle of energy before him. He knew his decision would break the boy's heart but it needed to be done.

"Naruto, after seeing your performance and taking into account the recommendations of the ANBU I had observing, I cannot grant you genin rank at this time."

Naruto just sat as the Hokage stated his decision and the boy hung his head in despair.

Iruka spoke up, "But Hokage-sama, Naruto does try very hard and has immense potential that would make him a fine ninja one day."

Sarutobi nodded, "I agree that he has potential. But right now it is only that, potential. I will grant that some of his failing have come from deliberate attempts to sabotage his education. However, his lack of effort on his own part has also contributed to his poor performance. Skipping class to perform pranks does not constitute good effort, Naruto."

Naruto tried to make himself seem even smaller in his chair.

"Taking everything into account, I will grant Naruto one more six month period in the remedial class at the Academy. This is where those who failed to pass their jonin sensei's test are sent. Failure there will result in permanent dismissal from the ninja program and being sent to the Daimyo's samurai legion as a conscript. Do you understand, Naruto?" Sarutobi glared down at Naruto with all the force of his office behind him.

Naruto could only pale and nodded slowly.

Sarutobi nodded crisply and muttered, "You are dismissed."

Iruka fought back a glare at his leader and ushered Naruto out of the office.

Once the pair had closed the door behind them, Sarutobi slumped down and frowned.

* * *

Naruto sat in his apartment that night and did nothing. He could not sleep and he had no appetite; even for ramen. His dreams were going down the drain and he would never be Hokage unless something changed.

A light tapping on his window brought him out of his stupor. He pulled a kunai from under his pillow and quietly made his way over to peek out. He did not see anyone. Slowly, he turned to see the Hokage standing in his apartment. Anger boiled up in Naruto as the aged leader just stood in silence.

"What are you doing here?" the boy yelled out. "Its bad enough you are taking away my dreams but now you have to come taunt me in my own apartment!?"

"No, Naruto. I am not here to taunt you. I am here because I need you to do something for me."

"Why should I do anything for you?" Naruto hissed out with tears in his eyes.

Sarutobi held out a folder, "First, read this report."

Naruto hesitated before taking the folder and reading the short report on a prank of his a few weeks earlier. The boy paled and looked shocked. "I … I didn't do that kind of damage."

Sarutobi nodded. "I am aware of that. However, someone is trying to make it look like you did. I have a few ideas on whom but I must keep those secret for now. Are you willing to listen to me now as I explain a few things?"

Naruto nodded slowly and Sarutobi pointed to the bed. Both sat as the Hokage began his explanation.

"I know you wish to become Hokage one day, Naruto. Being Hokage is about a lot more than being respected or in charge. Sometimes it is making a tough decision on who will live and who will die."

The boy gulped a bit as he had never considered that part of the job before.

"Being Hokage is also about lies and deception. What I did today was setting up something that will be very important for the future of this village and everyone in it. It involves you directly. There are people within the village who want to use you as a weapon. It involves the reason why so many people are unkind to you and ignore or mistreat you. I need to tell you about this reason before I ask you to do something for me."

"Do you remember you classes on sealing, Naruto?"

"Um, sort of. Iruka-sensei used chakra to put stuff into a scroll to make it easier to carry."

"That is one use for sealing and the very one I was hoping you would recall right now. After Iruka sealed the items into the scroll, did the scroll stop being a scroll?"

"Um, no, it was a scroll with a bunch of kunai in it."

"Good. Keep that in mind as I get to the next part. What happened the day you were born?"

"The Kyuubi attacked and the Fourth killed it. He died doing it."

Sarutobi nodded, "That is what we tell everyone, Naruto but it is not entirely correct. The Fourth did stop the Kyuubi and he did die doing so, but even he could not kill a bijuu. Instead, he sacrificed his life to call upon the power of a death god to seal the Kyuubi inside of a newborn baby. Inside of you, Naruto."

"I HAVE A DEMON INSIDE OF ME!" Naruto was on the edge of panicking.

"Naruto, calm down,"

"CALM DOWN! HOW CAN I CALM DOWN! IS IT GONNA EAT ME? IT'S GOING TO EAT MY SOUL ISN'T IT?"

Sarutobi grumbled and slapped the hysterical boy.

"You ... you hit me."

"Yes, I needed you to stop ranting. Now, are you a demon or are you a person that is keeping a demon trapped?"

"Keeping it trapped, I guess," Naruto said quietly.

"That is correct. When you were a baby I passed a law making it a crime to tell anyone who did not already know about your condition. The only ones who are supposed to know are all adults now and they should not be telling anyone else but they are anyway. That is why so many people go out of their way to ignore you or treat you poorly. I have tried to do what I can but even a Hokage can only do so much."

"But why not? Why do they treat me badly like they do?"

"Mostly because of fear, Naruto. A single person can be smart and fearless but get a group of people in one place and they become stupid and cowardly. Like Ayame at the ramen stand. She knows about your secret but does she treat you badly?"

"No, she is really nice to me."

"She sees who you are Naruto, not something to be afraid of, just a sad lonely boy who wants to have some ramen. But the crowd, they only see the demon not the boy who keeps it captive. They don't see that you protect us all from and are afraid of it."

"I protect people from it?"

"Yes Naruto. Your entire life you have served the village by being its protector from the demon you keep trapped within you."

"But, they why did you threaten to send me away from here into the Daimyo's samurai legions?"

"I was getting to that Naruto. I have a problem and I need your help to solve it. I do not want to just use you without you knowing about it but I needed to make a point in public that people will know and talk about and I did not have time to ask you first. This is one of the difficult decisions a Hokage has to make that I mentioned earlier, Naruto."

"There are people who do not have the best interests of Konoha in their hearts. They just want power for themselves. They know you are special to me and that I have watched over you for years. I needed to make it look like I was angry with you and was pushing you away. This way they will creep out from their hidden places and approach you. They will make offers to you and try to use you to get more power for themselves. These same people wrote the lies in the report I showed you earlier."

"So I should tell you right away if they come to me?"

"No, Naruto. I want you to pretend to go along with what they want you to do. Their leader is the one I am after, not the little minions. Once they think they have you in their clutches they will take you to him. That is when I will get him and take out the whole Root of this problem at once."

"It sounds important. What if I can't do it?"

"I think you can, Naruto. But I leave the choice to you. You have options. You can reject my mission and go through the remedial class and try to pass in six months. Iruka will be checking on your progress weekly to insure you are being taught correctly. That alone should give you the skills you need to pass with no problem. If you accept my mission now, you would become an official ninja of Konoha but no one will know about it except me until after your mission is complete."

Naruto was about to shout his acceptance when Sarutobi stopped him.

"Before you accept, I have to tell you. Failing in this mission will likely result in your death, Naruto. I want you to spend a day to think about things over and I will return tomorrow night to hear your answer."

Naruto nodded and Sarutobi disappeared in a burst of chakra smoke.

* * *

Naruto spent the following day walking around Konoha. With his new knowledge about what he contained, he thought about the way most people treated him. There was a large difference in how he was treated between ninja and civilians. Active ninja would just ignore him like they would any other twelve year old Academy student, neither good nor bad. The extreme hatred that Mizuki had shown him was not the norm but the exception. Retired ninja were generally neutral to him unless he had pulled a prank on them. Civilians tended to shoo him off and pull their children away from him. Older merchants were more hostile than most but he also added in the fact that a large number of them had been pranked after he had been treated poorly. Kids his own age and younger varied from wary to neutral with a few openly nice to him.

His wanderings took him to the Academy and he watched from the swing as the students who passed were leaving with jonin. Kiba, Shino and Hinata left with a pretty red-eyed lady. Choji, Shikamaru and Ino left with a bearded jonin who looked somewhat familiar to Naruto but he didn't know why. Eventually, Iruka left for the day but he spied Sakura-chan, Sasuke-teme and one other boy still waiting in the room.

A couple of hours later, Naruto got bored and wandered off in his thoughts once more as the three still sat waiting in the classroom.

His wandering eventually found him in front of Ichiraku Ramen. The blonde boy still did not have much of an appetite. But he sat down and ordered a single bowl of ramen because he knew he needed to eat anyhow.

Ayame looked over at him concerned, "What is wrong Naruto? You barely ate anything last night and just one tonight. Are you sick?"

Naruto gave her a weak smile, "No. I just found out a few things about myself yesterday. About why people treat me like they do."

Ayame looked sad for a moment before smiling at the boy, "Me and Dad have always thought you were a hero, Naruto. Everyone who takes the time to get to know you knows how good a person you are." She winked at him. "If you were a few years older, I'd just keep you for myself." Naruto was confused by her flirting and just ate his ramen in silence after that.

* * *

Naruto was sitting waiting when Sarutobi appeared in his apartment later that night.

"Well Naruto, what is your decision?"

"Well, I am scared but I'll do it, Old Man," Naruto said with a hesitant smile.

Sarutobi nodded, "Then I can tell you what you need to do. Tomorrow, you will try to see me in my office to try to convince me to change my mind about making you a genin. I will have you thrown out after a loud shouting match with one of my ANBU. He will say some hurtful things to you Naruto but this will all be cover for what you must do later on."

"Hurtful?"

Sarutobi nodded once more. "He will call you several cruel names in front of several secretaries whose allegiance I am not certain of and have you removed from the Tower without seeing me. Please know that I do not think that way at all. After that, you must not try to see me in the Tower. I will come here once a week for any information you might have learned."

"Once you have been thrown out, you act bitter towards me and, if you choose to do so, make unfavorable statements about me. This will draw the people I wish to capture to you. I will assume it will be for some kind of special secret training. Go along with them and earn their trust. In time they will take you to see their leader. I believe him to be the man named Danzo."

"The limping bandaged guy?" Naruto asked.

"You are an observant one, Naruto."

"Well he is always looking at me whenever I see him. I figured he was some kind of perv or child molester so I would stay away from him when he wanted to talk to me."

Sarutobi chuckled but continued, "If something comes up where you need to see me at once, you are to go to Ichiraku Ramen. Once there you will order the special Hokage only ramen and get it to go. She will say it is for the Hokage only but you tell her you are going to be the Hokage one day and you are entitled to it."

"So, how do I get started on this mission, Old Man?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Oh, that part is simple. You go to the remedial classes as scheduled and wait for them to get in touch with you."

* * *

Next Chapter: Nibbling the Bait

* * *


	4. Dangling the Bait

I am officially changing the character search from just Naruto to Naruto & Sakura with this chapter. Romance is not implied unless stated outright but they are the principal characters for this story.

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* * *

**

Dangling the Bait

Naruto was at the Tower early in the morning. He figured that in order to get the most out of what he needed to do he should do it in front of the most people possible. He sat calmly on a bench outside the Hokage's tower. He watched people going into the building for their normal civilian day of work. At last, he saw Sarutobi walk in past him without even glancing at him.

"Hey, Old Man!" Naruto called out in his loud but friendly way. "I need to talk to you!"

Unlike all the previous times Naruto had called out to him, Sarutobi continued on without turning and entered the building. His ANBU bodyguards had barely glanced at Naruto.

Steeling himself, Naruto ran into the building after the group. "Hey, wait a second!" he cried out as he trailed the Hokage up through the building. "Please, Jiji, I really need to talk to you about this!" He made himself sound desperate as they passed many lower level offices. Heads peaked around desks as the boy's shouts drew more and more attention.

Naruto finally got to the office door and tried to enter like he normally did when he came to the Tower. His hand was stopped by one of the ANBU guards taking hold of his wrist.

"Hokage-sama will not see you child. He has no more time for the antics of a failure," the bear masked guard said in an even tone.

"I am not a failure!" Naruto yelled out. "I am going to be Hokage one day! You'll see!"

He pulled his hand free and reached for the door handle once more.

Naruto suddenly found him face slammed into the wall with his arm wrenched behind his back in a hammerlock. "Ow," he whimpered.

The ANBU took hold of his jacket collar and, holding tightly to the arm he held, frog marched Naruto back down and out of the building. Naruto protested loudly the whole time.

Once outside, the ANBU hurled Naruto to the ground and spoke in the calm even tone ANBU are normally heard in. "Uzumaki-san, you are barred from returning to this Tower without being summoned from the Hokage or one of the officials within who require your presence. If you return without being summoned, the Hokage will allow the charges he is holding back for the defacing of the Monument to proceed and you will be arrested and placed in prison for treason. Do you understand what I have said to you?"

Naruto sat in the dirt and slowly nodded.

"I require a verbal answer from you, Uzumaki-san. Do you understand what I have said to you?"

Naruto replied in a soft voice, "Yes, I understand."

The ANBU nodded before turning and going back into the building. Naruto sat in the dirt for a few minutes before rising. Tears fell down his face as he slowly walked away from the Tower.

* * *

Sarutobi looked out his window at the blonde boy walking off. Even knowing this was a setup, he felt bad for having to subject the boy he loved like his own grandson to such treatment. There was a knock on his door and Bear entered the office.

Sarutobi looked over to see Asuma removed the bear mask and look at him for a moment. Asuma had been about to express his dislike of having to do that to Naruto but the look of pain in his father's eyes told him that silence was the best option.

"It's done. As ordered," was all he said.

Sarutobi nodded. "Now we wait. The hardest part about fishing is seeing what nibbles on the bait you toss out and how long it will take. And hoping they do not notice the little hook waiting for them when they do."

* * *

Rumors spread like wildfire across Konoha. The Third had Naruto tossed out of the Tower. Many people thought that finally the demon container was losing favor with their aged leader. One foolhardy soul decided that he could act on his dislike of the boy. Naruto had been walking with his head down and hands in his pockets when the bottle came flying out of the alley. It suddenly swerved in mid air and flew up to a rooftop to be caught by an ANBU. Naruto never even noticed it.

The man turned to flee but he ran into a single ANBU waiting behind him. "The boy may have fallen out of favor, idiot, but the Third's Law still remains."

The ANBU vanished with the civilian in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Several days after the incident at the Tower, Naruto arrived for the remedial classes. He was surprised that thirteen of the twenty other students there who had actually passed the genin test. 'But why are they here if they passed?' he wondered. The largest surprise he found was Sakura was in the group. 'She got assigned to a team with Sasuke and some kid that was from an outskirt village. I don't see the Teme or that other kid so why is she here?'

He noticed that Sakura had her head hung in defeat much like he had when he failed the tests. Even her normally vibrant pink hair had a dirty look to it showing it had not been washed in days.

He walked up to her. In a quiet voice he asked, "Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?"

Sakura looked up at him. Her bright green eyes lacked any life at all. "Oh, hi Naruto. Guess I'm where I belong; with the losers."

"What happened? You passed the test. So did a bunch of other people in here. I don't understand"

Sakura sighed, "It seems there is a second test by the jonin teachers. If they fail you, you get washed back. My team failed."

"But if you failed, then where is the Teme?" he said puzzled by her answer.

"Kakashi-sens … Kakashi-san said his skills were good enough that he could be used as a replacement in an existing team. Mine weren't," she said with no energy.

Naruto was shocked by her answer. Add in the fact that he had insulted Sasuke and Sakura had not even reacted and he was really worried. He sat next to her and she still did not react to him. "Um, Sakura, I'm sitting next to you, you know. I'm not even defending myself so if you felt like it, you could hit me on the head for it."

Sakura just lowered her head once more. "No thanks Naruto."

Naruto tried to think of something else to cheer up Sakura. "You know, it could be worse. They could have kicked you out altogether. If they sent you here they might think you are still good enough but just lacking something. Like with me, I can't make a simple clone. If you fix that one area, you could be a ninja after all."

Sakura looked up again, "You really think so? But what if I fail again and then they get rid of me?"

"Then go out trying your best. I read something once but I can't remember what it said so I'll tell you what I remember of it. I will fight until I have nothing left. If my weapon breaks, I'll fight with my hands. If my hands are cut off, I'll kick them with my feet. If my feet get cut off, I'll crawl along the ground and bite them. If they kill me, I will still win by getting my blood on them and ruining their clothes."

Sakura chuckled at the corny last line Naruto said as his grin seemed to lighten the mood she was in. "That was horrible and I never heard of anything like that, Naruto. But I think that was something like a samurai's motto."

"Maybe, but it did make you smile, Sakura-chan. You look much nicer when you smile," he said with honesty.

Sakura smiled weakly at Naruto after that. "Thanks Naruto."

They sat in silence until an instructor neither knew came in. The man wore the standard uniform of a chunin of Konoha. He looked over the students in the room with a blank look before speaking in a loud clear voice.

"All of you are here for one reason of another. The underlying reason is that all of you here have washed out of the Academy training program. None of you are any longer on the fast track for advancement and few if any of you are likely to be making jonin rank. You are plain grunts from now on. I am the only person you need to impress while I see if I can salvage any of you into passable ninja. I will not tolerate backtalk or slackers in my class. After today, all of you will come to class in suitable attire and respond to military discipline. You will address me as Sir. That is the only way you will refer to me. Do you understand me class?"

A few students replied with a weak, "Yes, Sir."

"I could not hear you. Do you understand me class?"

The class replied louder, "Yes, Sir"

"In the future all replies will be loud and clearly spoken. You will wear dark blue, dark green or black clothing to class. Brightly colored hair will be covered when on duty or dyed to a dark color. It will not be loose below your neck" He glared at Sakura and Naruto specifically on those points. "When I call on you in class, you will rise and stand straight before replying to me. Are there any questions for me?"

Naruto raised his hand slightly above his head. The instructor pointed at him "You, with the whiskers."

Naruto stood up rubbed the back of his head with one hand, "Sir, I have no other clothes that could be used for ninja work. I don't have enough money to buy better clothes."

The instructor raised an eyebrow, "Whiskers, did I say you could smile or rub the back of you head when you addressed me?"

"No, Sir"

The instructor got up close to Naruto and glared at the boy from a few inches away. "Then get down on the floor and do 20 pushups for your mistake."

Naruto dropped to the floor and began doing pushups. He quickly did the 20 required and stood once more.

"We have a comedian, class. How many pushups did you do for me Whiskers?"

"I did 20, Sir," Naruto replied in a clear voice.

"Really? I never heard you say you did any. And how do I know you actually did 20? Maybe you only did 19 and are lying to me? Are you lying to me, Whiskers?"

"No, Sir"

"Then I want to HEAR YOU as you do those pushups, Whiskers!" the instructor bellowed.

Naruto got back down to the floor and began doing pushups once more, making sure he counted off each one as his body rose and fell. He finished the final one and began to rise when a foot pushed his chest back to the ground.

"Are you trying to get thrown out of this program, Whiskers?"

"No, Sir."

"I think you are. You seem to think you are special or something. You did every one of those pushups wrong." He looked at Sakura. "Pinkie, what did Whiskers do wrong?"

Sakura quickly stood, "He forgot to say Sir each time he spoke out, Sir."

The man nodded and looked back down, "Do my 20 pushups, Whiskers."

Naruto felt the foot leave his back and he performed another 20 pushups counting each one and making sure he said Sir at each.

Once finished, Naruto stood back up. The instructor looked at him, "To answer your question. You may go request suitable clothing from the quartermaster. The cost of it will be deducted IF you make genin otherwise you will be billed for it if you wash out entirely." He handed Naruto a paper. "Give them this. Take Pinkie with you because both of you are wearing clothes that say 'Kill Me'."

The instructor then talked about the class schedule and that each day they would be doing exercise as a group to make sure that they all could handle the physical side of being ninja. After that, he dismissed the class until the following day and walked out.

* * *

The instructor walked to a plain building and entered. He descended down a hidden stairwell to come to an open area. He went to one knee before an old bandaged man supporting himself with a cane.

"Danzo-sama, the newest class does contain the Container as we had been informed. The group also contains three or four other potential recruits. With the proper mindset they could do well for Root."

Danzo smiled crookedly. "Keep an eye on the ones you think might be useful eventually. Make sure they all receive strict discipline. Do not approach the container just yet. Have him watched when he is not in training. I want to see if he truly has fallen out of favor with the Hokage before we approach him. He needs the most discipline of them all. Let the system do our initial training for us"

* * *

Naruto and Sakura eventually found the quartermaster warehouse far from the civilian areas they normally kept to. Upon showing the note from their instructor, each of them received four sets of clothing in a dark blue. Neither one was interested in dying their hair so they got several head scarves to tuck under their headbands to cover their hair. Sakura would be forced to wear hers in the standard fashion to hide her bangs and tie her hair up in a bun to keep its length.

Once the paperwork for the clothing was filled out, they were allowed to leave. The quartermaster had also issued them each a pack to carry the clothing in. They slowly made their way back toward the civilian areas.

"Sakura-chan, do you want to get some ramen with me? I'll pay. I have a little bit of money left."

Sakura was quiet for a minute. Naruto had always asked her out in the past and she would normally hit him for it so she would not look like she was giving up on Sasuke. But now, she was in a totally different situation. She had no Sasuke to fall back on. She had no other person she knew remotely as much as Naruto in the class. Every person she knew more than casually had passed the real test and now she had no one, just Naruto. She didn't want to push away the closest thing she had left to calling a friend.

"Fine," she said at last in the defeated voice she had been using outside of class. "It is NOT a date. Just a pair of friends getting something to eat."

Naruto smiled broadly and it seemed to be warm and lightened her mood just a little bit.

* * *

Day by day, the next three months passed slowly for both Naruto and Sakura. The instructor seemed to take particular glee in torturing the pair of them. Neither one noticed they were being molded into obedient little soldiers as every instance of individuality was dealt with by harsh physical punishment in the form of more exercise. Classes consisted of tactics and team formations and all the physical things a ninja needed to know. Taijutsu was done daily and left all the students sore. Knifework, weapon throwing, silent killing techniques, offensive and defensive formations. There were none of the leadership classes that the Academy had drilled into them. They realized that they were no longer the leaders. They would end up being the followers; a part of the nameless background all dressed and looking the same.

Sakura's physical strength improved dramatically. She decided early on to take heed of Naruto's advice. They could kick her out but she would not give them the satisfaction of making her quit. Her slender arms gained muscle mass along with the rest of her body. In response to her increasing physical energy, her chakra reserved were several times what they had been in the original Academy. Her build became more like a gymnast's than anything else as the flexibility exercises the class had kept her from growing muscle bound and looking like a weightlifter.

In the second month after a grueling day of running an obstacle course, Sakura's bun had come undone and her long hair cascaded down her back. The instructor was immediately yelling at her to do something about it. Wincing under his verbal assault, she pulled out a kunai and sliced the hair off at her neck. She just dropped the pink strands into the mud and kept moving. She never looked back at it

Naruto also filled out from a scrawny boy into a much more fit person. His troubles with chakra control only increased the amount of 'punishment' he got at the hands of the instructor. But he kept one thought in mind. He was working for the Hokage and this was a mission.

The only bright spot for Naruto or Sakura was each other. As they were the 'troublemakers' of the group, the other students left them isolated. During training they would watch each other's backs and make sure the other was getting through that stage of the training. They would sit together during lunches and walked back to their homes at night together. Every few days Naruto would treat Sakura to ramen but he ate much less than he had in the past as his funds had been drastically cut. Neither one spoke much outside of training and they only caught glimpses of their old friends as they passed by doing other things. They did see that their former friends never bothered to notice the pair of trainees in identical outfits and head coverings.

* * *

True to his word, the Hokage came by his apartment once a week late at night. Early on, Naruto would give long detailed talks about his experiences but every week these became smaller. After nearly three months he just said in an exhausted voice, 'Nothing to report, Hokage-sama'.

Sarutobi frowned at hearing that as the entirely of what Naruto had to say. But he could see the changes in the boy over time. He hoped that the bubbly boy he knew was not lost forever. The Hokage then left Naruto's apartment in a puff of smoke.

Back in his mansion, Sarutobi shivered as the shadow clone dissipated and the memories flowed into his mind. He needed to push things along faster. Root must be holding back to have not approached Naruto yet. He needed to make things move faster. He was worried about many things and the disturbing report of a genin team headed for the Wave Country being killed along with their jonin teacher and client seemed more ominous than usual.

* * *

The instructor looked over his reduced class. From the original 21 students, 13 remained. The rest had left the program on their own. "The first three months of this program are now over. I hope I have instilled the proper amount of physical and mental discipline into all of you that will be needed in you time as ninja of Konoha. I will turn you over to a new instructor tomorrow to handle your chakra and jutsu training."

There was a call from the door, "Stand for the Hokage!" All the students stood quickly to attention. The Hokage walked in briskly with his white robes and official hat. He looked out at the teenagers and frowned before turning to the instructor.

"These are the washouts of the last Academy session?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. They just finished their physical retraining and move on to the chakra and jutsu retraining tomorrow."

The Hokage nodded. "Any problems from any of them?"

"Only Uzumaki and Haruno, Hokage-sama. They seem to not like to follow the rules but we are certain they will fall into line. Their years in the Academy left them thinking they were special."

Sarutobi walked over to the still at attention Naruto. "Still causing problems Naruto? You must really want to spend the next 20 years of your life in the Daimyo's Legions, don't you?"

"No, Hokage-sama," Naruto replied.

Sarutobi looked at the instructor, "Make a note in Uzumaki's file. If he fails out or quits, he goes to the Legions as a conscript. Haruno as well. The ranks do not need troublemakers."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi turned and left without another word.

Both Naruto and Sakura looked scared as the instructor turned a malicious grin in their direction.

* * *

"Danzo-sama, we have an update on the Container. Sarutobi has threatened to send him to the Legions as a conscript."

"Excellent. Desperate men turn to whoever gives them comfort. Watch his home for another two months. If no one sees him by then, send in a low level operative to approach him with an offer."

Danzo turned his attention to other things as he could see his new weapon getting deeper into his grasp.

* * *

Next Chapter: An Offer He Can't Refuse

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**End Notes**:  
Things take a darker turn for Naruto. I would have to research who exactly said something in a review from The Will Born In Fire but I am treating the Academy in this story as more of an Officer Training School than anything else. 'Background ninja' that always take the hits and die in the manga and anime are treated differently and I am sending both Naruto and Sakura into training for that mess. In essence, I sent them to military boot camp. They will not stay there but they are getting that kind of abuse right now. All the major canon events are not even going to get much attention prior to the Chunin Exams and Invasion. I did have a brief mention of the only pre-Invasion arc in case it was missed. There is no bridge.

For the current appearance of Naruto and Sakura, think of standard Konoha background ninja attire without the vest but with the type of head covering worn in the episode where they are in disguise as the Haze ninja.


	5. An Offer He Can't Refuse

Opening Notes: I am aware that many people are upset with what I am doing with my story. My idea of the military in this story has solidified into a modified version of the chivalric model. In this, the ninja we see most in the anime and manga are more of an elite group much like the knights, squires and pages of medieval Europe. Jonin being the knights, chunin the squires and genin as the pages. The rest of the military in the medieval period were basically professional soldiers, mercenaries and untrained militias. Everyone pays attention to the shiny knights but few remember the little people who did the real work of fighting. The 'washouts' from the Academy like Naruto and Sakura would be a part of the professional soldiers, many of which could actually defeat the pages and squires one on one but are never given the opportunity. Some would even train the knights as men-at-arms and protect the kings; much like ANBU does in the Naruto world.

The other issue I feel I must address is that many readers seem to think that basic military training robs a person of their individuality. This is completely untrue. If you know any soldiers who have gone through it you understand. Yes, it does require people to walk, talk and act a specific way and it can to an extent carry over to the way they are in public but at the core it is very rare for a person to become brainwashed by basic training. A person becoming mindless drone is more a product of Hollywood than of fact.

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* * *

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An Offer He Can't Refuse

* * *

"_Danzo-sama, we have an update on the Container. Sarutobi has threatened to send him to the Legions as a conscript."_

"_Excellent. Desperate men turn to whoever gives them comfort. Watch his home for another two months. If no one sees him by then, send in a low level operative to approach him with an offer."_

_Danzo turned his attention to other things as he could see his new weapon getting deeper into his grasp._

* * *

Sarutobi normally liked going out and seeing the training of the various ninja under his command. This morning he felt too sick to do so. His need to force Danzo's hand was becoming too great. He had been forced to threaten not only Naruto but a person who had no connection to his plans. He remembered the perky pink haired girl from Naruto's class and knew she should not be in that program. Kakashi had failed the team over poor ability and the lack of any sort of teamwork. He even suggested that the Uchiha be turned over for psychological tests due to his monomaniacal need to kill his brother. It had been the manipulations of Sarutobi's old teammates that had the Uchiha boy assigned out as a replacement for an incomplete team.

Like it or not, his power as Hokage was waning as his age increased. Danzo would not outlive him by very long as the old warhawk was badly crippled. The Root organization Danzo created would outlive both of them and be a drain on Konoha unless it was destroyed.

Naruto was the big variable for Sarutobi. The boy needed so much more than he had gotten in his life. If someone were to offer him better than he had received in the past, the Hokage felt there was a slim chance that the boy would turn. He needed someone else as a backup to Naruto just in case the boy did turn to what he was offered

* * *

Naruto liked the instructor for chakra training a lot better than the one for physical training. Sakura was helping him with class work as much as he had helped her with physical exercise. The pair had become a team in practice but not in fact. In spite of getting the most punishment and excluded by the others, they were also the top two in the class. The discipline he had been subject to for the past 3 months taught him to concentrate and focus on what he needed to do. That helped him refine his chakra control now that real training on it began.

The class had been asked to do the most basic chakra measurement exercise for the teacher. Sakura was surprised to see that her reserves had increased several times over what they had been in the Academy. Her control remained as perfect as before and might even have improved somewhat through the discipline. When finished she kept her face composed and bowed. 'Chaaaa! I pulled it off!' she shouted inside.

When it was Naruto's turn, he looked straight at the instructor and said, "Sir, do you want my best or what you need to see?"

The instructor just sneered and said, "Your best is what I want to see."

"Yes, Sir," was all Naruto said before he exploded in light. The entire group felt like they had looked into the sun. Naruto glowed like that for 10 seconds before the instructor was shouting at him to stop. It took several minutes for the instructor and the class to regain their sight. Naruto managed to hide his smirk before the instructor could see it.

"Never do that again, Uzumaki. I will admit you have more chakra than anyone your age should have but that is not a reason to flaunt it. You need to control all that power."

"Yes Sir," Naruto replied.

The instructor led the class outside

"All right class. Now we will start your chakra control exercises. All of you have shown enough chakra to do this so I want no slackers. Today I will show all of you how to climb walls and trees without your hands. You will use chakra through the soles of your feet to grip the tree. This technique is the basis for the tree and roof running you see so many ninja of Konoha use."

The instructor walked up to the wall of the training area and with a slight push off walked up the wall. He stopped about 20 feet up and looked down at the class. "The most difficult part of this exercise is getting used to the way your perception shifts when in a plane that is not vertical. It is easy to become disoriented because gravity still works on you even though your feet are gripping the surface. That is why this is used mainly as a practice exercise and not a routine procedure."

"First step, lift one foot and place it flat on the wall. Mold chakra through that foot to get it to grip at the wall. Once you can lean back at a steep angle and have your foot remain gripping the wall, you get my attention and then you can switch to work on the other foot. Sometimes it takes a different amount on each foot to get this to work. You may approach the wall and begin."

The class stepped up to begin. Sakura and the other girl in the class both managed to get one foot to work almost immediately. They raised their arms and were able to switch feet. Naruto was constantly applying chakra and having his foot pushing off from the wall.

The jutsu instructor came up to each person in turn and told them what they were doing wrong. Each time he was telling the person to apply more chakra. He observed Naruto and growled out, "Way too much chakra, Uzumaki." Naruto applied less and less as his instructor told him until finally he managed to get the foot to remain attached to the wall. He was the last one to be switching feet but he managed to get the second foot on the first try.

The instructor was pleased that the entire class had managed the first step in only an hour. The next part would be a step up in difficulty. He led the class to a slanted section of wall at a steep angle with bars hanging over it

"Second step. I want each of you to grab the bar on the wall in front of you. You will lift yourself off the ground and place your feet against the wall. You will use your chakra to hold your feet in place and slowly relax your arms until your weight is on your feet. You will need to increase the chakra you use to do this as more weight is on your feet. Once you can maintain the grip with your feet, you will release the bar and keep yourself firmly attached to the surface. Once everyone has accomplished this we will move on."

Once more the class began the new exercise. Sakura and the other girl were once again the first two to get it right but Naruto was a close third behind them. The instructor walked up to Naruto and looked at him and finally pulled at him to see how well he was stuck to the slanted surface.

"How is it you could not get one foot to stick for so long but now can learn this part so fast Uzumaki?"

"I learn best by doing, Sir. Once I knew how much to chakra use, it was easy after that. Adding a little more was easy for me too," Naruto informed him.

The instructor chuckled as he turned to get the rest of the class up to speed. Several fell but the controlled conditions prevented injuries. Once everyone had managed the exercise, the instructor moved on to the third one.

"Third step. This is the toughest part. Now each of you will actually climb a wall. You will be allowed to step on the slanted part on the way up. From a standing start you will place one foot on the slanted surface, and lift yourself up then place the other foot higher on the wall and then proceed to walk up the wall. You will not run during this exercise. It is intended to train your control, not your speed. Moving at a slower speed means you need greater control to get up the distance required. If you find your leg strength lacking, use chakra to support the muscles. I expect us to be working on this for at least the next two days so those who finish early can keep doing it by going up backwards. Those who cannot do this exercise forwards and backwards after two days had better practice on their own time or you will fail the final. Do you understand?"

"We understand, Sir," shouted out the class. The instructor leaned against the wall to watch the class practice and fall often but there were no serious injuries.

* * *

Over the next two days, the class all managed to finish the exercise. Sakura had nearly exhausted her chakra even at the higher level of control. Naruto carried her piggyback toward her house as she lightly dozed. He caught sight of Team 10 going the other way but chose to say nothing as the group walked past. Shikamaru had only been grazed by Sakura's foot. He looked up for a moment but then stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Naruto? Sakura?"

Naruto flinched and stopped, almost coming to attention at hearing his name. Sakura shifted on his back and groggily lifted her head off his shoulder muttering, "Here, Sir."

Choji, Ino and Asuma all stopped once Shikamaru had and turned back to see what was wrong. The remainder of Team 10 saw Shikamaru talking to a pair of ordinary military ninja with one being carried on the second's back. Asuma shifted to one side, recognized Naruto's face and frowned. The look on Naruto's face was extremely tired and his features holding a blank mask. The girl on his back was even more tired and looked like she had just woken up. But the thing that most disturbed him was their eyes. They were not so much empty as they seemed guarded and hiding their emotions. He would need to talk to his father about this.

Shikamaru looked over the pair with a critical eye as he took in their appearance and physical state. He needed more time to think about this. "We haven't seen either of you since graduation. We were just going to get some barbeque. You want to come?"

Asuma frowned at first but Shikamaru glanced back at him with a look and he spoke up, "That's an excellent idea, Shikamaru." He waved Team 10 into motion and Naruto followed along still carrying Sakura. Asuma got them all into the restaurant and had Naruto and Sakura in furthest against the wall. Ino slid in next to Sakura and Choji outside of Ino. Shikamaru got in next to Naruto with Asuma taking the outside seat.

Sakura and Naruto both sat there as Team 10 ordered food for the entire group. Ino began to talk and ask them questions. Asuma noticed neither one made a move to remove their hoods so he spoke up, "You know, you can take off the hoods now."

Naruto spoke up, "We are still on duty until we arrive at home, Sir. We are supposed to be in uniform on duty."

Asuma nodded, "Well, I am a jonin and I say you are off duty while you are in here eating so take them off."

Both Naruto and Sakura pulled the hoods off their heads and Ino almost freaked when she saw the state of Sakura's hair. "Damn, Forehead, what did you do to your hair? It's almost as short as Hinata's now!"

"It was in the way and I didn't have time to roll it back up into a bun so I had to cut it or do 50 pushups for being out of uniform," Sakura replied in a tired voice. "It was below my neck."

Ino looked over at Asuma in shock as he nodded. "But my ponytail goes almost all the way down my back. And I don't have to wear that hideous uniform. Why do they have to?" she asked her teacher.

Asuma sighed and slid into lecture mode, "They both washed back from the elite program into the standard military ninja program. The elite program that you are in, Ino, is what most of the world sees of our ninja. The elite program gets the high profile missions that make a village famous and get the village a lot of money from clients who wish for the ninja they hire to be seen. The elites also tend to be the more powerful ninja of a hidden village and get unique reputations. Genin in the elite program don't have to wear standard uniforms so they can be seen in public much easier. Most chunin and jonin in the elite program tend to move to a more military style of dress so they do not stand out as much to the enemy."

"Standard military ninja are a different group. They wear uniforms all the time. They get the quiet missions and the dirty missions. They take guard duty in Konoha. They keep the village secure and handle all the things that we take for granted with our elite status. They also rarely get high profile missions and few advance to jonin rank. However, a large portion of ANBU is drawn from the best of them. When someone fails out of the Academy due to lack of skill or failed by a jonin sensei, they get sent to the military ninja basic training to see if they can still be useful as a ninja."

"But … but, Sakura was smarter than I was, Asuma-sensei," Ino protested. "She should still be one of us!"

"No Ino," Sakura said quietly. "Yes, I was smart but I was also being very stupid. I spent all the time I could have been getting physically stronger chasing after Sasuke. Now I know better but I am not going to quit. I can't quit now. I have to get through this to the end."

"Why not?" Ino blubbered out. "You can always quit the program if you are not a genin yet."

Naruto looked across the table at Ino, "If either of us tries to quit or fail out now, Hokage-sama is going to send us to be conscripts in the daimyo's Legions."

"What are the daimyo's Legions?" Choji asked.

Asuma spoke up, "They are the military forces that answer directly to the daimyo as opposed to the Hokage. Normal professional soldiers who have no chakra or people who wanted to fight but not be ninja. Local militias, police forces and conscripts are also a part of the Legions. Conscripts are basically slave labor in the Legions. Few conscripts survive their terms of conscription. If Naruto and Sakura are sent there, it would be a horrible and short life."

Ino paled, "What would happen?"

Asuma looked down, "Naruto would be the lucky one. He would likely survive. He would be little better than a pack mule and he wouldn't get to fight, only do drudge labor. Sakura," Asuma paused and looked up at Sakura. He saw a slight spark in her eyes and she nodded slightly. She knew what could happen to her there. Asuma continued, "Sakura would be used by the troops … as a pleasure woman and a cook. Likely she would not live very long."

Choji and Ino both had tears rolling down their faces at hearing that. "That's cruel and inhuman!" Ino cried out.

Asuma nodded once more. "Sending someone to the Legions is a last resort for Konoha. It is reserved for the worst and most incompetent of trainees. Hokage-sama normally just dismisses people from the military instead of doing that."

The team sat in silence for a few moments before Shikamaru spoke up. "I doubt that would happen to them, Ino. Unless the standards are ridiculously high, they should already be more than strong enough to pass now. Judging by how their uniforms fit and in spite of their being tired, I think the pair of them could defeat all three of us right now in a straight battle."

Choji looked at Naruto and Sakura then back at Shikamaru, "Are you sure, Shika? They look pretty wiped out."

Shikamaru nodded, "You both were so busy listening to Asuma-sensei that you haven't watched them. They have been quietly eating almost constantly since the food was brought up. I would guess that Sakura's chakra reserves are back up to a quarter of their normal level from being nearly empty less than an hour ago. Physically, they are each stronger than me and Ino and they would not fool around with flashy jutsu. They would move in to disable immediately with kunai and taijutsu. They are not mere ninja anymore, Choji. They are soldiers as well. I think Naruto as he is now would easily defeat Sasuke."

Ino chuckled, "As if. Sasuke-kun would roast him in a few seconds."

Shikamaru shook his head, "No, Naruto would beat him in a few seconds. Not with anything flashy, just go right about it and cut him down without a word while Sasuke was trying to brag about his superiority."

Naruto smiled slightly, "I might let him think he had a chance, Shikamaru. But I think that is about right."

Asuma spoke up once more, "Ino, I mentioned that most of ANBU comes from the military ninja. What I did not tell you is more specific. Nearly all ANBU come from Academy students that were washed back to the military side from the elite side. Think about it. They had the skills and ability to make it through the entire Academy program but lacked the one something a jonin sensei felt was off to be a part of the elite. The military training and discipline added to that existing skill level and made them better than just Academy or just military. I would not be surprised if in five years or so, both Naruto and Sakura would be invited to join ANBU."

Choji was in so much shock hearing what Asuma had to say he never even noticed Naruto quietly getting the last piece of meat.

* * *

Since the class had demonstrated ability at wall climbing, the chakra instructor wasted no time moving on to walking on water as the next skill. This took nearly a week for the entire class to master. Sakura managed to accomplish it the first day along with a few others so they were tasked with variants of it like doing handstands or calisthenics on the surface of the water.

The chakra instructor wasted little time with fancy high powered jutsu. Each day he would have his students hold themselves to the rafters of the room while he taught his lessons. He taught simple D-class jutsu in the class. Using a simple water jutsu to fill a canteen by condensing the water from the air. Fire jutsu that could be held in one hand and used to cook meals without the need of a campfire. Earth jutsu that could allow hiding of trash and waste at a campsite. Wind jutsu to dry clothes if they got wet. The range of simple uses of jutsu the class learned made more sense for a covert force than the flash the elite ninja used.

By the time that chakra and jutsu training was completed, the class would become true ninja; silent, unseen and skilled.

* * *

"Danzo-sama, the latest report from the instructor has been forwarded to us. There are several promising candidates we can have assigned to Root members. Subject Uzumaki is showing great progress as far as self control now. The agents watching him have not detected any contact with him in private outside of a dinner with some of their old Academy classmates last month after Uzumaki and Haruno bumped into them. The agents are worried because the jonin sensei of that team is Sarutobi Asuma."

"Hmmm, have there been any attempts to contact Uzumaki in his residence?"

"Our agents have reported none in all the time he has been in the program. They have to be careful to avoid the normal ANBU watch on the boy but they are able to maintain surveillance. The dinner was the only contact with his former friends in months. Only Subject Haruno has close ties to him now. She is on the consideration list."

Danzo nodded. "Send a message to keep Uzumaki alone after training tomorrow. Someone will have a talk with him then."

* * *

"Uzumaki, one of the instructors wishes to discuss your failings as a ninja with you after today's training session," the chakra instructor told Naruto. "Haruno, there will be no need to remain waiting for Uzumaki today unless you have a pressing need for more pushups."

Naruto and Sakura both replied, "Yes, Sir."

Naruto watched Sakura trudge off as he sat to wait. 'Maybe this is the contact that the Old Man has been hoping for,' he thought.

Naruto heard a person open the door saying, "Uzumaki, come with me." Naruto rose and followed the man he recognized as the first instructor who called him 'Whiskers' all the time. He had never learned the man's name.

The instructor led Naruto to an office and had Naruto sit in a chair facing away from the door. "Wait here, Uzumaki. Don't turn around." A door across the hall was knocked on and it opened. Footsteps crossed the hallway and the office door closed. Naruto could hear two people behind him.

"Uzumaki, we have a problem to deal with. It seems you are up to the task for us. Right now you are on the cusp of failing out of our little program along with your little friend. Your discipline problems have all been documented and will count against you when the final scores are added up. If you decide to help us with this little problem, those records will disappear."

"What if I choose not to help, Sir?" Naruto asked.

"Then we will have no choice but to apply those records in full force, making both you and your little friend, Sakura, fail. You know what failure would bring for each of you? Yes, we know you still call her 'Sakura-chan' when you are alone. Imagine poor little Sakura-chan being sent out as a conscript? Her first night being auctioned off to the highest bidder as a prostitute. That man taking her in various disgusting ways before tossing her to the rest of the men."

Naruto's fist clenched involuntarily as the man so casually talked for a few more minutes about the treatment that would await Sakura. Finally, he asked, "What would I need to do?"

* * *

Naruto slowly walked back toward his apartment. He did not know what he should do. If he rejected the mission, Sakura-chan would be sent out as a conscript. Visions of Sakura-chan being cruelly treated and raped danced in front of his eyes. The thought of it just made his chest hurt. She was a much nicer person to him now. She never yelled or hit him anymore. They even talked about small things together. She even smiled at him when no one else was around. He could not condemn Sakura-chan to that life, so he would sacrifice his own to keep her safe. He would do what the people wanted of him to insure that she would be alright.

He walked up to Ichiraku and ordered a Hokage sized ramen. He knew that the Old Man had put that over her and only the Old Man could take it off now. He hoped that the message would get through in time and then he could go do what the mysterious people wanted of him.

* * *

Next Chapter: Dancing within Shadows

* * *

Parting Shot: My 'tree climbing' training is how I think it should be taught. Simple step by step process to insure the concept is understood and to find flaws in how a person is doing it. Kakashi's method sucked. Show it once, toss your students a kunai and say 'do it' is no way to teach anything.


	6. Dancing Within Shadows

**Dancing Within Shadows**

* * *

Naruto waited nervously for the Old Man to show up at his apartment. He needed to leave on the mission within the hour if he was going to get it done. There was a puff of chakra smoke and he saw the aged Hokage in his living room.

"I assume since you used the emergency contact, that something has come up?" Sarutobi asked.

"Yes, Sir," Naruto replied. "Um, sorry, too used to having to respond like that. I had some guys today ask me to do something that I know is illegal. But if I don't do it, they are going to make sure your threat against Sakura-chan happens for sure."

Sarutobi stroked his chin. Just as he suspected would happen, Root was trying to use Naruto's relationship with Sakura against the boy. Once Naruto had committed the crime, they would have a hold on him that they could keep using to draw him in deeper.

"What is it they want you to do, Naruto?" the Hokage asked.

"They want me to break into a warehouse and steal something illegal hidden inside it."

Sarutobi stroked his beard as he thought about what Naruto was told to do. Such an act would make him a criminal and easily give Danzo's men a hold on him. Even with his plans, that might be too much of an obstacle for Naruto to get past. At last he nodded, "Do as they ask. Since I am aware of it, I can make sure nothing comes out against you in the end as you are under my orders. Like I told you months ago, we do not blame the subordinate for following the orders of the superior."

Naruto smiled but Sarutobi noticed that where the boy would have whooped for joy six months before, now he kept much more sedate and controlled. "Sir, um Old Man, could I make one request?"

"What is it, Naruto?"

"Could you cancel your order to have Sakura-chan sent to the Legions if something goes wrong for me? I mean I understand a lot more about what being a ninja really means these last few months and she would make a good one. If something bad happens to me with all of this, I'd feel better knowing that Sakura-chan won't have to face that life."

Sarutobi felt a surge of pride hearing that from Naruto. The boy knew what a mission could lead to death or worse but he still looked out for someone precious to him. "Consider the order rescinded, Naruto. I had no intention of sending either of you into that hellhole of a life but I had needed to make it convincing enough to make Danzo's men approach you. They have taken much longer than I had hoped but that is why I have had so much trouble catching them in the act. They are careful and will not hesitate to use your conscience against you until they have you trapped."

Naruto smiled once more. Sakura-chan would be safe no matter what.

"One last question for you, Naruto. I have heard from Iruka that he has not seen you at all for months now. Are you avoiding him?"

Naruto ducked his head and blushed lightly in embarrassment. "Um, actually the one day off I get, I normally end up sleeping most of the day. If he came by I don't think I would have even heard him knocking."

Sarutobi chuckled lightly, "You should make time to see your friends, Naruto. They are what keep a person going in the hard times. I should be leaving before the spies watching you see me."

Naruto nodded, "I need to leave soon myself. I don't expect trouble but I was told ANBU patrols the Uchiha estate more than most places in the village."

Sarutobi vanished in a puff of smoke and Naruto turned to get his gear ready.

* * *

Sarutobi sat back as the memories of the shadow clone filtered into his mind. He smiled once more as he thought about Naruto's request. The boy was as strong as he had hoped. Even so, the insurance he had taken would also be of use in time.

_Haruno Sakura was quiet as she walked home with Naruto. The Hokage had said she would go into the Legions if she failed or quit. All kunoichi knew the horror stories that came from such a sentence. She had been doing well in this remedial class. The instructors loved to pick on both her and Naruto. But she had shown she was more than able to meet their challenges. She was proud of herself for the first time she could recall._

_Now, this thing the Hokage laid on her was like a blow to her confidence. She said good night to Naruto and walked into her parent's house. It was dark of course. Her mother had been moved to a shift in the evenings now that Sakura was not in the elite program. It seems her mom's boss felt that keeping in the elder Haruno's good graces was not something he needed to do any longer. She felt guilty each night the house was dark on her arrival. One more reason she had to get through this. Since her father had died years ago on a mission, she was the only Haruno left as a ninja. Her dad's commander had kept his promise and gotten Sakura the appointment to the Academy once she qualified to get in. There were more Harunos but her uncle and cousin were not interested in being ninja. They were content with being bureaucrats._

_Sakura heard a noise in the living room and peered in as she was taught. "Come in Sakura, it is your parent's house after all," a familiar voice called out. She stood straight and entered the room to see the Hokage sitting on her couch holding his unlit pipe. A pair of ANBU stood on either side of it, a Bear and a Cat._

"_I know I am not your favorite person at the moment Sakura, but I have a reason for what I said this afternoon. Will you listen to what I have to say?" the Hokage said in a calm voice._

_Sakura bit her lip and nodded, "All right."_

"_Good," he said smiling slightly._

_The Hokage gestured to the couch next to him and she sat as gracefully as she could._

"_First of all Sakura, I must tell you I have no intention of sending you to the Legions. I needed to say that because some people are after Naruto."_

"_Why would people be after Naruto? He's just another loser like me," Sakura replied in a soft voice._

"_Sakura, you know that is not true," Sarutobi said in a stern voice. "Cat here has been keeping an eye on things with your class for me. She is keeping me up to date on the progress of everyone along with keeping a eye on Naruto. According to her, both you and Naruto are the top in your class and make a good team. You have a huge edge in chakra control over him while he has the physical skills. Right now, both of you can easily make genin."_

"_As far as Naruto goes, he is a special case. There are reasons I cannot tell you his secrets right now, but if he feels the need to tell you of them one day, he can tell you. Otherwise, you must wait to be told on making jonin rank or ANBU. But going along with that, people are after him because of those secrets. Are you with me so far?"_

_Sakura nodded._

"_Good. I would like you to keep an eye on Naruto for me."_

"_But isn't that what your ANBU is for?"_

"_There are times in your class when Cat cannot know what is happening unless she reveals herself. If Naruto is approached by anyone suspicious, I need to know about it. That is why I am asking you to do this for me. As I said, you are good enough to be a genin on your own merits right now. Whatever the instructors do to try to fail you will be countered. Several of them are working for the people after Naruto and will be removed when the time comes. All I ask from you is that you keep me informed of anything strange that happens with Naruto."_

_Sakura bite her lip and looked down. She felt relief that the sentence was not hanging over her anymore. All she needed to do was keep an eye on Naruto. He had become her best friend over the past months. She didn't like him romantically or sexually (dreams at night don't count she clarified to herself) and he was not as bad as he had seemed when compared to Sasuke back in the Academy. He actually had some good skills. She could keep an eye on her friend since she had been doing that already._

"_Would we be able to get back into the Elite Program?" she asked somewhat innocently._

_Bear chuckled softly behind his mask and Sarutobi smiled, "I will not make any promises to you Sakura. All people who graduated but washed back are given a chance to get back into the Elite once they complete the remedial course. If you make it back, it has to be on your own merits."_

_Sakura smiled softly for the first time in days. A chance was something she had not even hoped for. But earning it would be worth more to her now with all she had gone through. She had come to value achievement through working for it. For years she had seen her future as a given but come up short due to a lack of effort. Now, she was better._

"_I'll keep an eye on Naruto for you Hokage-sama."_

Sarutobi had been pleased with the meeting and set the details for informing him if something came up. This afternoon a message came that something had happened. Naruto had been asked to remain behind. Messages from Sakura, Cat and finally Ayame arrived quickly. He was proud of them all for trusting an old man and proving his trust in them.

He wished Asuma had been as accommodating.

"_Dammit, Dad! I just got in from dinner with my team. We ran into Naruto and Sakura. Those two are worn out. I don't know what kind of hell they are going through in that remedial class but it is way beyond what normal genin should be getting."_

"_I know it is. I have Cat keeping an eye on them. She is keeping me informed."_

_Asuma growled, "Informed is one thing, Dad. They are going to break on you and your whole gambit is going to go down in flames! If I didn't know Sakura was acting about how she would be going into the Legions I would have believed her!"_

_Sarutobi went into a secret panel on his desk and pulled out a folder. "Asuma, look at this list. This is the list of people that man Koga was working with. We have confirmed over three dozen Root members since then and that does not include current shinobi. If they rise up against Konoha, the results could be devastating. I have so few people I can trust involved in this that I do not know if I will even wake up in the morning. I need to think of Konoha as a whole. If Root takes this place over hundreds, thousands will die in wars started by that lunatic. He has been working in the shadows for decades; hidden from me, hidden from Minato. Several members of the Clan Council are on that list, Asuma. If I am forced to risk the lives of two genin, even if one is Minato's boy, in order to keep thousands of ninja and tens of thousands of civilians safe and happy, then I will do so. I may not like myself afterwards and I will pay for my choices with Kami but I will do what needs to be done for the benefit of the greatest number of people."_

_Asuma watched as his father was both a strong leader and a tired old man as he spoke. "I have done much worse than this in my lifetime, Asuma. I just pray that the path I set finds them safe at the end of it. I would rather it was me taking the risk but even I cannot do everything."_

* * *

Naruto slid into the police contraband warehouse with more ease than he had expected. The key code he had been given for the door worked as he was told. There were few guards on the buildings as chunin and genin squads had taken over most of the security duties that police used to handle before the Uchiha massacre. His only real concern was the random ANBU patrols in the area. He found the box he needed quickly and removed the items. This was much easier than it had been getting into the Tower for the scroll for Mizuki. He just reminded himself he was doing this for the Hokage to get the true thieves and traitors.

Voices outside the door made him stop and wait. A team was now guarding the door and he was trapped. He had taken too long. He slid a short distance away to a point where he could not be seen if it opened and listened. Time crept by slowly. He needed to get this to the meeting point in order to succeed.

He barely heard a faint tinkle of breaking glass. Footsteps leaving the door stirred him to action. He moved back to the main door and listened. Silence. He keyed in the code and the door opened. With no noise he slipped out the door and closed it behind him. Then he was moving away to become one with the shadows and his escape.

He barely made it to the meeting point in time. "Place the items on the ground and leave, Uzumaki. You will be contacted soon." Naruto could only nod and leave to head back to his apartment. He avoided all the patrols he could detect but he never noticed one shadow. Bright green eyes watched him from it and a stray thought crossed the mind behind them, 'What the hell are you playing at, Naruto?'

* * *

Naruto stifled another yawn as he waited for the instructor to continue with the lessons. He already had done 3 sets of pushups for yawning in class today. He really did not want any others. One more week to go and the remedial class would be completed. He was confident in his abilities now and his chakra control was good enough that he could create as few as five perfect clones. Daily exercises with chakra use were routine to him now. The morning obstacle course was done over stations surrounded by two feet of water instead of sand. The leaping and jumping without falling in was not difficult. But the crawling along the surface without falling in was always a challenge even for the best of them. Even Sakura had fallen in often on that one.

He wondered why he was so tired lately. Sakura was also feeling the edges of exhaustion by mid-afternoon. None of the other students seemed as tired as the pair of them. It had been growing worse since his secret mission for the person he never saw. More often than not, he carried Sakura home at night while she slept against his back.

A kunai imbedded into the desk before him, "UZUMAKI! Wake up! I guess you want a record number of punishments in one day, don't you? Since Haruno was sitting with her eyes closed as well, she can join you."

"Yes, Sir," both genin said as they began doing the required pushups and counting each one out loud. "I want both of you to remain after class today. We need to discuss your behavior."

* * *

Hours later and even more tired, Naruto and Sakura were waiting for the instructor to come in. They had already been waiting for a half hour when the man walked in. "Good, neither of you is sitting down. You are not as dumb as some of the students I have had. Now, what the hell is wrong with both of you? The past few weeks you both have been slipping up badly. You are falling asleep in class and I have seen Uzumaki carrying you home almost every night, Haruno. Are you eating right? Are you not sleeping at night? What is going on?"

Sakura answered first, "I don't know Sir. I have been getting nine, sometimes ten hours of sleep and night and I have been eating twice as much as I did in my Academy days. I am good in the morning but as the day goes by, I am just more and more worn out."

"I feel the same way, Sir. I am not as tired as Sakura is but by the end of the day I feel like I have been training all day without eating. I have seconds at lunch and I still have no energy."

The instructor nodded. He was a veteran chunin with over 18 years of service. He knew these kids should never have been in the remedial program, they were too good for that. Over the years, he had developed a sense about these things. They could easily get back into the Elite Program by finishing in the top of this class. But over the past month, both had been slowly sliding down in the rankings. Not from getting worse but from not improving as fast as they had early on so the others were slowly passing them. At this point, they were on the borderline on making it back into Elite. He had seen that happen before to good students getting washed back into remedial training. Starting off well them slowly falling behind as the others grew faster in ability. They never got back to Elite status and simply vanished into the thousands of ordinary ninja.

Both Uzumaki and Haruno seemed to be suffering from borderline chakra exhaustion. But he had not had the class doing chakra exercises today. He rubbed his chin as he thought. If they had not used chakra it would be building back up. But if their chakra kept draining, it had to be something else.

"Both of you strip down to your underwear," he finally said.

"Here Sir?" Sakura stammered as she blushed.

"Yes here Haruno. Now. Consider it a training exercise to get over modesty. It might come up on a mission that you need to be unclothed around others. Just do it"

"Yes, Sir," both replied and somewhat shakily both pulled off their uniforms. In minutes, Naruto stood in his boxers and t-shirt while Sakura was in just her panties and a camisole top. Naruto averted his eyes as much as he could but he was still tempted to peek. His nose started to itch terribly and he felt something else happen before he finally just turned away from Sakura entirely.

Sakura blushed badly when she saw Naruto peeking over at her and frowned when he turned away. He must think she was ugly. Sure she was not as built as Ino was but still he didn't have to look away.

Naruto looked over at the instructor, "Sir, may I sit please?"

The instructor looked at Naruto and chuckled, 'Oh to be 13 again. The raging hormones of puberty I could do without but I guess he is only human in his reaction.' He glanced at Sakura who was trying to hide in plain sight, 'And straight as well,'

"Fine, both of you can sit. I'll be back in a few minutes." The instructor picked up the uniforms and left.

The teens sat in silence as the minutes ticked by. Naruto had turned in his seat slightly so Sakura could see more of his back than his side. Naruto had his hands folded on his lap and just sat still, looking away from her.

"Is something wrong, Naruto," she finally asked.

"um, no," he replied in a strained voice.

Sakura grumbled. She knew something was wrong so she did what she always did when something bothered her, she thought about it. 'He rubbed his nose then turned away form me and will not look anymore. He did it after I took off ... my ... uniform. Oh gross.' She looked down at herself. Maybe she was not as bad looking as she thought and smiled slightly before getting an evil twinkle in her eye.

_Naruto stood in front of the line facing Iruka, "Make a henge, Naruto."_

_Naruto vanished in a puff of smoke. What appeared out of it was a naked buxom blonde girl with long pigtails. She pouted and bit her lip at Iruka who then flew back with blood spewing from his nose._

Naruto was almost calmed down when a soft little girl sounding voice whispered in his ear, "Naruto-kun, don't you want to look at me anymore?"

Naruto paled then blushed darker than ever. Visions danced before his eyes before darkness fell.

Sakura giggled as Naruto's nose seemed to spew blood before the blonde passed out.

'Well, at least he likes girls,' she thought as she sat back down. 'Sasuke never reacted like that to anyone.'

The instructor returned after roughly a half hour. He saw both teens looking much more alert than they had in class only an hour before. Naruto was frantically wiping up a stain while Sakura studiously ignored him. 'Teenagers; even as ninja they're still teenagers,' he thought holding in a chuckle.

He tossed the clothes back to Naruto and Sakura. "Wash those tonight and wear them again tomorrow. Bring any other uniforms you have with you to this address after class tomorrow." He passed them each a business card.

"Sir?" Sakura began to ask.

"No questions. It was an order, Haruno. Follow the order and ask no questions." The instructor raised an eyebrow as he spoke. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Sir," the teens replied as he sent them off.

* * *

The instructor frowned as he watched them leave. 'Why would a pair of washed out Elites have low end chakra restricting seals sewn into their uniforms?' He thought for a long time on it. 'Only prisoners have something like that. It was not enough of a restriction to stop them, just hinder them. Someone wants these kids to fail to make it back into Elite.'

He would go stop at the clothing shop tonight to see his old classmate before going home. His friend had made ANBU before suffering a career ending injury. It had been a long time since they went out for drinks together.

* * *

The following day in class, Naruto and Sakura were almost hyperactive. Neither one cared about it because they were glad to not be falling asleep. The instructor knew that something seriously wrong was going on so he decided that he needed to poke his nose into the file room before going to see his buddy with the kids.

He looked through his own personal class notes for Elites that he remembered as failing the remedial class. He only had two or three in the years he had been an instructor in this program. Looking at it now with a recent knowledge of a pattern he could see it quite easily. He went to the main file room for the training center to see where those students had ended up.

The file room was rather large as a good number of Elite program trainees came through this center. He looked for the one he had two years before but was puzzled when the file he was looking for was not there. 'That is strange, I know he graduated. I passed him after all. His name is not even on the graduation list in this file now. What could have-'

* * *

"Danzo-sama, we have a problem."

* * *

Next Chapter: Into The Fire

**End Notes:  
**Things are getting ugly down in the shadows. Multiple things happening and no one knows everything. There are a few more clues to the big picture and how Root gets its hands on higher quality recruits in my story. Not as much direct on Naruto and Sakura this chapter because I needed to set the stage for the last scenes of the first act of this tale.

The whole sending them to the Legions bit is a 'red herring' cover story. Sakura is not going to be sent there to be raped and killed. Shame on the people who wanted that to happen.

**Review Notes:  
**I would like to express my appreciation to J.A. Jasper and Calimora for their thoughtful and critical reviews. I wrote them back personally with private responses and what they pointed out has helped me address a few plot holes I had missed.

For everyone that has pointed it out to me, Sarutobi is not the gentle grandfather stereotype so many prefer to favor. He is an old leader who had been enjoying his retirement before being put back in to lead. He is also a hard nosed warrior who will do what is necessary. In a large organization, there are always people 'empire-building' among the people they work with. In this case Danzo has built up quite a large one in his Root and once it became partially visible, Sarutobi realized its threat and was forced to find a way to dig it out without putting Konoha into a civil war. Yes, he is using Naruto in a way that some people find offensive but he needed to use someone Danzo wants as the bait to expose it for everyone to see the corruption. He is aware of the potential consequences and like all quality leaders he cannot let his conscience prevent him from doing what needs doing.

To Angelform, writing detailed action scenes in a weakness I have in my writing. I am working on adding more but I prefer to make my stories character driven more than action oriented.

To anothvortex, reviewing anonymously (something which I have never been against) I freely admit Naruto is being used by Sarutobi, just like any other ninja sent out on an undercover mission is used. I made sure that Sarutobi told Naruto why he was wanted in Chapter 3. I myself thought the whole panic attack and eating his soul was a funny line, but that is getting off the point. As far as becoming Hokage one day, that still remains an option because ability will still rise to the top. It will simply take him longer. I think it should take a character more than 4 years to become a god tossing around balls of energy. I prefer not to make teenagers powerful enough to wipe the floor with much more experienced adults.


	7. Into the Fire

**Into the Fire**

Naruto and Sakura waited at the clothing shop for over an hour before someone called them into the back. A man with a heavy limp gestured for the uniforms they both carried. He was gruff but not rude to them.

"So you two are Ito's students huh? The ones he was bringing over for new uniforms?"

"I'm not sure. We only called our instructors 'Sir'," Sakura replied.

"I talked to him last night. 'Pinkie' and 'Whiskers' were the pair he talked about. That's you two. Did he tell you anything else past to show up here?"

"No, Sir," Naruto replied.

The shopkeeper grumbled, "That means he stumbled into something he shouldn't have. Okay, you two listen up. There is a lot going on in Konoha and somehow the pair of you are now in the middle of it and deeply involved in something you're not ready for." He pointed at a label in one of the uniforms, "See this? It is a chakra restriction seal. Every one of your uniforms has one in the pants and shirt. Where did you get these clothes?"

Naruto looked shocked but stuttered out, "From the quartermaster," before shutting up. The boy wilted under the shopkeeper's glare at giving such shoddy information until Sakura answered, "Our first instructor at the remedial classes sent us there for uniforms. We did not think anything of it because we had no other suitable clothing."

The shopkeeper nodded, "That makes sense. Someone was trying to set both of you up so you could not make it back into the Elite program. Then you could just disappear when you are out of sight. ANBU looked for that conduit for years and never stumbled onto it."

Naruto looked worried, "Sir, are we in trouble?"

"You two specifically? No, not yet. You're definitely in danger but not in trouble. And knock it off with the dang 'Sirs'. It you need to call me something, call me Hiro. I am an old friend of your instructor."

The door chime sounded and Hiro motioned for them to be quiet as he went to the front. Naruto could barely hear some conversation happening but he did not want to move closer to find out. Minutes passed before Hiro came back into the room leading a purple haired woman.

"This is another old friend of mine, kids. She works here part time. Her name is Yuugao. Pinkie, go with her for a few minutes. Since you are here, I'll get you set up with a few new outfits. The ones you have are really worn out and fit you like a tent. It was a good thing Ito suggested you come here instead of the quartermaster this time. Yuugao offered to help Pinkie because I hate helping kunoichi find clothes."

Sakura looked confused but followed Yuugao out to the main part of the store after Yuugao glared at Hiro. Hiro then turned to Naruto and spoke in low tones, "When you next get a Hokage sized ramen delivered, tell your friend that Blue Aardvark says hello and is waiting for the word with all of his friends. Now, this is not something Pinkie needs to hear, understand?"

Naruto nodded slowly and was intimidated by the change in the man before him.

"Good, I have some idea of what is going on. Don't ask me how or why; just listen. Root is very interested in you. They are not your friends. They are planning something big in the next few months and you have become a part of their plans. Yuugao tells me my friend Ito is in the hospital right now and he may die. He found something out and now those bastards are going to pay for hurting him. You have kept a lot of things quiet up until now but in the next few weeks you will be forced to pick a side. Make sure it is the right one."

Naruto could only nod slowly as his fear grew. The man in front of him grew less intense after a few seconds and smiled, "So, what size pants you going to need? You look like about a 30 inseam."

"Um, I'm a 29," Naruto said confused.

"Meh, go with the 30, you'll be hitting a growth spurt eventually," Hiro said. "Oh, geez, stop looking so scared. I am serious about what I said but you need to remember. Real ninja work is not done by the Elite. It was done by people like me. The Elites are good but we are the best."

"We?"

"Yeah, Ito never mentions it to anyone. He didn't make the cut. But no matter what someone else may say in the next few months, Elite is not the best there is. ANBU is. You are ANBU only when you have earned the right from your peers. Being ANBU means you are ANBU for life." Hiro smirked as Naruto nodded slowly and tried on the clothes the shopkeeper brought him "I wish I could tell you boy. Only one other Uzumaki ever lived in this village. She was one of the best of us. I owe her more than I can ever repay.'

* * *

Sakura went with Yuugao out to the main shop floor. She just looked nervous as the older kunoichi held up various pants and shirts against her. "Relax, Sakura, he'll be fine with Hiro. You're doing a good job watching him for the Hokage."

Sakura stopped and looked at Yuugao, "What do you mean?"

Yuugao smirked, "Meow"

Sakura was puzzled for a moment before she got it, "Oh."

"Yeah, 'Oh'. I saw that stunt your instructor pulled yesterday with the uniforms. I was tempted to kill him for it but someone else almost beat me to it." Yuugao looked unconcerned as she held up a different dark colored shirt against Sakura. "This one should fit you better than those standard rags of yours. Go try it on."

Sakura was almost freaking out. She managed to keep her voice low, "How can you talk about killing someone and be so calm about it."

Yuugao looked, "We're ninja. That's what we do. Here, these pants should fit you okay. Being all showy and having flashy jutsu is for the Elites. They kill sometimes but not often. Elites make ninja look less like a covert strike force than we really are. Public relations is one thing but you don't honestly think the classes in killing were just for show did you?"

Sakura blustered, "Well no but you make it sound like you were buying groceries or something."

"Not really, but the day it becomes like buying groceries is the day you need to stop doing it and get out," Yuugao said softly. "Anyway, you handled Naruto pretty well in that classroom. You could go far if you chose to. First time you ever see a boy with that reaction?"

Sakura nodded as she dressed, "Yes. It freaked me out at first but I sort of felt good about it after a bit. No one else every reacted like that."

"Yeah, just so you know, a lot of us girls have a pot going on if the Uchiha is gay or not. Lemme see how that looks on you." Yuugao looked at Sakura and nodded. "Shirt is good. Not too baggy but loose enough to hide some things in. Pants just tight enough to show some shape but not skintight. A few more years and you could be mistaken for a professional like us."

Sakura looked confused at Yuugao, "You make it sound like I'm one of you. I'm not even an official genin yet."

"True, you're not a genin officially, but as far as potentially being 'one of us', you could be someday if you get the right experience. But for that, you need to choose. Something is going to happen soon. Your teacher set off more than he realized by finding those files. They know we are onto them. People are going to have to decide where they stand, with the Hokage and how Konoha is or with Root and the war machine Danzo wants to make of it."

"I need you to wait out here while I talk to Naruto," Yuugao finished

* * *

Sarutobi looked at the ninja laying in the ICU. Multiple stab wounds littered his back and chest. 'I need to know what happened for certain. Cat tells me he found something in the files but she couldn't tell exactly what. They entire drawer was covered in blood. Something about the most recent wash backs.' He sighed as he looked over to a second ninja in a similar state. 'This one I did not even suspect of being Root. This means they have infiltrated the training system as well. Danzo could have hundreds of ninja in Root by now and the rest of us none the wiser.' It all comes down to the contents of that file. Get back here quickly, Cat. I need that information. How could I have overlooked having Naruto tell me who contacted him?'

* * *

"Danzo-sama, we have a problem," the operative said.

"What is it?" The crippled man replied in his rough voice.

"Our man in the Elite Remedial Training program is in the hospital. We do not know why because ANBU have sealed off the area. All we know is that it was in the records room and two people were taken to the hospital with life threatening wounds. A large amount of spilled blood was observed."

"Get people as close to it as possible, I need to know what happened," Danzo said in a low voice.

* * *

Yuugao walked into the back of the shop. "Wow, Hiro, you have him looking like a chunin without the vest. Naruto, the Hokage needs to know why your current teacher would be in the records room of the Training Center. Is he the man who contacted you about doing that job for Root?"

Naruto looked over confused, "What are you talking about? What job?"

Yuugao was getting frustrated. First she had to help out a kunoichi find decent clothes and now the kid with information she needed to get for the Hokage was playing games.

She grabbed Naruto by the shirt and pushed him hard back into the wall. One hand slid down into her fanny pack and pulled out her Cat mask and held it over her face for a moment before continuing, "The Hokage sent me to get some information from you Uzumaki. He visits you once a week with a shadow clone to find out if anyone has contacted you. If something happens you are to go to Ichiraku's Ramen and order a Hokage sized ramen to go and he would get to you as quickly as possible. I do _not_ have time for word games with you, boy. Answer my questions. Who contacted you to do the job for Root?"

"My teacher did."

Hiro broke in, "Ito could not have been your contact."

"No, it was the first guy who contacted me. I never knew his name. He never told us," Naruto said in a shaky voice.

"Ito talked to me some last night. He mentioned a few of his suspicions about what he knew and a theory. We were talking for three hours last night, Yuugao. It would take me some time to relay all of it," Hiro told the upset woman. "Take Naruto to the Hokage and let him start with what he knows while I get over to the Tower. With this bum leg it will take me nearly an hour to get there. If Root sees me getting carried there, they will know something is up."

"Right, take the very kid that the Hokage threatened to send to the Legions in public to see him in the open. Are you fraking insane?" Yuugao yelled.

Hiro smirked, "I have been called worse. But you just said he almost looks like a chunin. Now suppose we toss a vest on him and with his headgear and a little face paint over the whiskers; instant chunin."

"That is completely dumb, Hiro." Yuugao sighed. "But it just might work right now."

Naruto grinned, "So all I have to do is tell him everything I know, right? About the teacher and the seals and all that? Oh, what were those seals called again?"

They heard a voice behind them, "Chakra restriction seals."

Hiro and Yuugao spun with drawn weapons and saw Sakura standing in the doorway.

"I heard the yelling and then half the stuff on the wall out there fell down. I'm surprised the shop next door is not coming over to see what is going on," Sakura explained.

"You kids are really beginning to piss me off. I need to get this information to the Hokage as soon as possible."

"The Hokage said that you think me and Naruto make a good team. Together we might have the information you need. I was there when we got the uniforms. They were doing this to me too. After yesterday, I am in this whether I like it or not," Sakura pleaded.

"Grrrrr, I don't have time to argue this. Fine, you're coming too. Cover that hair and let's go.

Hiro pulled out a pair of chunin vests and tossed them to Naruto and Sakura saying, "I want those back when you get back here. Take the old uniforms too. The Hokage will want to see the seals. I'll get to the Tower with what Ito told me."

Yuugao put on her mask while Naruto and Sakura fumbled with putting on the vests and headgear. They picked up the old uniforms and nodded.

"Let's go," said Cat.

* * *

The trio managed to get to the Hokage without an incident. Sarutobi did a double take seeing Sakura and Naruto in their disguises but quickly took over an empty hospital room to discuss things.

Naruto quickly told of the teacher who approached him and the seals in the uniforms. Sakura followed up with more information and the name of the person who provided the uniforms. 'Photographic memory does help sometimes,' she thought.

Cat told him that Hiro was getting to the Tower with more information from his conversation the night before with Ito.

Sarutobi was upset that a teacher who had vital information but could not tell them was ruining everything in his plan to flush out Root. His plan had started out simple but now things were spiraling out of control because of an earnest teacher trying to help his students. The internal war he feared was closer to being set off than it was before he planned this gambit. His time for deciding action to prevent an all out civil war was fading by the minute.

"Sir," Sakura interrupted. "I know I don't know everything but the core move of your entire plan was to get Naruto into the hands of this Root group?"

"Yes, that is amazing deduction from hearing so little about this, Sakura. But after tonight they will not likely be going near him. In fact I think that if they find out he was going to be a plant, they would be after him to keep him quiet," Sarutobi said with a resigned tone.

"So Naruto and anyone else who was working against them would become a target once word of this whole sting operation gets out?" Sakura asked in a timid voice.

"Yes, I need to find a way to hush this up before the truth of this attack gets out, but I need a plausible story. Something that can make the original plan still work," Sarutobi rubbed his chin trying to think.

"What would it take for them to take him?" Cat asked.

"After this mess? He would have to be being hunted down and have no place else to hide," Sarutobi said.

Naruto shuddered as he felt a chill and looked back at Sakura, "Sakura-chan, I don't like that smile on your face."

Hokage-sama, what is he was being hunted for questioning in a murder attempt?" Sakura asked.

Sarutobi, Cat and Naruto were speechless.

"Well, Hokage-sama, you did threaten us in public with being sent to the Legions if we failed. What if Ito, our teacher was telling us we were being failed? He did punish us often in this past week and in front of the class. The people in it know he kept us after class yesterday."

"Sakura-chan, what do you mean by we?" Naruto asked.

"Think about it, Naruto. The seals in my clothes mean Root was after me as well. Also, what about taking out the teachers? Do you think one genin could take out two teachers even by surprise? With both of us we could manage it. We ambushed one in the file room, the other one heard the noise and we ambushed him as well to get away. We tried to make it look like they fought each other. We learned how to do that in class, remember? We changed clothes and left the bloody ones somewhere but they get found and we need a place to hide. We can figure it out from there. Hokage-sama can put out an alert for out capture for questioning in the matter and tell the ANBU he trusts to avoid finding us until Root does."

Cat spoke up, "That is an insane plan. It would never work."

"Actually, it might," Sarutobi said quietly. "But it would mean a major sacrifice for both of you. I will not allow it"

Naruto spoke up, "Old Man, Hokage-sama, do you think that Danzo would let me get away, knowing that he was almost found out and exposed? Not just me, but Sakura-chan as well. We would spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders to make sure we aren't stabbed in the back. We have to risk this now. Get rid of them now while we have a chance or spend the rest of our lives in fear"

Sarutobi cursed himself for dragging this pair of children into this plan. Now, they were shaming him by behaving like true warriors and ninja when he wanted to put them safely aside and protect them.

"Cat, could we get blood from both men onto uniforms that Naruto and Sakura had with them just now? Maybe plant them somewhere in the civilian sectors of the village?" Sarutobi asked.

"Doing it would be easy enough, Hokage-sama," Cat replied.

"Before I order this, I have to hear it from each of you. I am asking you to consider that it can cost you your lives. You can choose not to do this and I will not think any less of either of you," Sarutobi said as he looked at each teen in turn.

"I will do it, Hokage-sama," replied Naruto without hesitation.

"I will do it as well, Hokage-sama," answered Sakura immediately after.

"All right, I will get this set up. I hope you can both forgive an old man for using you both like this one day. Cat, get the clothing ready. Use your own discretion for planting it."

Cat nodded and left with the uniforms in hand.

"There is something else I was supposed to tell you Old Man," Naruto said. "It was from someone I met tonight but I am not sure if it was a secret or not. Should I whisper it to you or should I just say it in front of Sakura-chan?"

"Can you give us a moment in private, Sakura?" Sarutobi asked.

Sakura nodded and stepped out of the room.

"Old Man, the guy named Hiro who got us these clothes asked me to tell you that Blue Aardvark is waiting for the word."

Sarutobi nodded thoughtfully. Blue Aardvark was one of the larger groups of retired and former ANBU that had sprung up in Konoha. Knowing they were behind the Hokage in retirement as they had been on active duty was a surprise benefit in all of this. "Thank you Naruto, that does help me. More than you know."

The pair called Sakura back in and they waited until Cat returned from her mission.

"The clothes are planted Hokage-sama. They should be found in the morning. I left them in the Merchant's District a block away from Hiro's shop. That will also allow Naruto and Sakura to explain away new clothes when Root finds them."

Cat looked at the pair, "Give me those chunin vests before you leave. I hope to see you both safe and sound at the end of this."

After the pair had left Cat turned to the Hokage, "Hokage-sama, that question you asked them? It sounded very much like the tenth question asked in the Chunin Exams written test."

Sarutobi nodded, "I know Cat. It was meant to. Both of them are mentally ready to be chunin. Now, we need to meet your friend Hiro at the Tower. I will have Torture and Interrogation take charge of the men in ICU if either wakes. We need to keep them silent and safe until this plan unfolds. Perhaps the one should 'die' to prevent him from returning to his master."

* * *

Naruto and Sakura moved in the darkness to a more isolated part of Konoha. The areas within the walls where the Kyuubi had destroyed many buildings were largely uninhabited. Naruto found them a comfortable place to rest in an abandoned old house.

"This is going to be rough, Sakura-chan," Naruto said as they tried to get some rest.

"What else can we do, Naruto?" Sakura asked. "If we don't do it, they'll come after us. This way we have a chance. We should get some sleep while we can."

Naruto just nodded and lay back on the creaking floor.

* * *

Dawn came to Konoha. It was a bright sunny day without a cloud in the sky. Shouts rose up from the Merchant District as a woman found the bloody clothes. Word passed quickly as the ANBU arrived and took charge of things. By noon, the word had spread to most of the ninja of Konoha, 'Bring in Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura for questioning as witnesses in the attack on two instructors'.

Experienced genin teams that had been preparing for the Chunin Exams in another few weeks had been mobilized to search the village. The rookies had been kept together by their teachers since they had known the missing students only months before.

Teams 8 and 10 talked about it but decided they really did not know Sakura and Naruto that well after all. Shikamaru just lay there and said "Troublesome," even though his mind worked frantically on the puzzle. Hinata fretted some but said nothing

The search had been widespread and but not that intense as it was only for questioning. The people looking felt that if it was truly serious, then ANBU would have been dispatched to find the pair.

The day passed and no clue had been found on the missing students. Sakura's mother was worried while many civilians were commenting that it was only the Uzumaki boy finally showing his true colors. Retired ninjas kept quiet while a slow message was passed among a small group of them.

* * *

Deep under Konoha, Danzo growled out an order, "Find them and bring them to us. If they are caught, Uzumaki will be locked up in a prison so tight that I will never get him. Haruno is not as important but she could be useful."

* * *

Sakura and Naruto spent the day planning out their story. They decided to lace it liberally with the truth and only a few lies to link the facts and distort them. The teacher kept them after class like everyone knew. The next day he told them they were going to fail. He told them to return in secret that night if they wanted to pass. When they returned, he told them that he would pass them if Sakura earned their grade.

Since she decided that she would never allow that to happen he went to the record rooms to write the failure in their records. Sakura told Naruto that since he was in the same situation, if they didn't stop him, they would be gone. Naruto went along with the plan and they attacked the teacher. Their first teacher heard the noise and came in so they were forced to attack him and hope that it looked like the pair got into a fight.

Once out of the training area, they headed for the marketplace under cover of night and stole the clothing from the shop after the man limped out for the night. Then they hid.

Naruto nodded and made sure that he understood it.

"Sakura-chan, why were you in the Elite program?" Naruto asked after they had sat quietly for a time.

"Well, my dad was an ordinary ninja. He was never that good at it. I mean he made chunin but he was just a military ninja. His squad leader saw that his control was great, he just had so little chakra that he could barely get through training. He did something for his commander once, he saved him I think and he died for it. It took him a long time to die too." Sakura choked up at this part but Naruto waited in silence until she could continue. "Well, when I was old enough, he came to see me. He decided that since I was smart enough and had more chakra than my dad, that he would sponsor me to get into the Academy if I wanted. He said he had made a promise to my dad. So, I took it."

"And fell in love with Sasuke."

Sakura stuck her tongue out at Naruto for that one. "Well, he was cute and looked like he would make a good guy to have as a boyfriend. Now, I'm not so sure. He was always cold to me. He had great skills but he was so full of himself. I didn't see those things about him from being so close to him. He put down my training and called you a loser. It is almost funny now. With all the intense training we've had, I'm at least on the level he was before he left the Academy. You're way above that."

"Now, my turn for personal questions. I know you're alone and an orphan so how did you get in? And why didn't all those pranks get you thrown out?" she asked.

"The Old Man, Hokage-sama, sponsored me. I think he got a lot of flak over it too. The first day I was there, several teachers all tried to throw me out but he paid them a visit. Looking back, I realize that he was making them accept me. I never really knew why anyone wouldn't want me around. No one paid any attention to me after that. I had to draw attention to myself so I started doing pranks."

Naruto stopped there when he heard his stomach growl. He looked down and tapped his pockets. "I think we forgot to plan on getting something to eat. We might have to get out of here anyhow. I don't think we would get found like this by Root if we stay here. I might try sneaking back to my place later on. The Old Man said they watched it."

Sakura looked confused, "Where do you live anyway?"

Naruto grinned, "Actually, it's not that far away from here. That's how I knew this place would be deserted. Going back to my place to hide would have been stupid."

"Well, you're not going without me. I am going stir crazy just waiting," Sakura grumbled.

* * *

The pair waited until just after dark before they ventured out. Naruto led Sakura on a winding course to his apartment. She was surprised that is was in such an old run down building. A genin squad lounged around the building entrance. Naruto silently pointed at police security seals on the windows before gesturing they would go to the roof. He avoided the team and climbed up the fire escape to the roof. He slid open a panel she didn't even notice and dropped down into the bedroom.

Sakura dropped down after peeking in. Naruto was busy stuffing various articles of clothing under the bed. She really did not want to know what but was glad he had enough courtesy to try. Afterward, he pulled out a box of scrolls and stuffed a few into his shirt. He handed some to Sakura and whispered, "These are important, we take these too. Wait here while I grab some things from the kitchen and living room."

Naruto snuck out and to her surprise he walked right down the middle of the hall. She was about to say something about stealth when she realized that this was his house. He would know where every potentially squeaky floorboard was. He returned in minutes holding a bag of food and some bottles. He had strapped several weapons pouches to his body. "This should be all we need for a few days. I figure that by tomorrow since we had not been found, the Old Man will send ANBU after us. I think that was normal procedure. The Root man might not have seen us coming in, but I spotted him from the kitchen. We'll go west off the roof and end up going right past him."

Sakura raised an eyebrow at this, "How did you know they were watching you?"

Naruto grinned the old foxy grin she had not seen in months. "Sakura-chan, I ALWAYS know when someone is watching me, even the ANBU."

He boosted Sakura back to the roof. He passed her the supplies before climbing out. He led her off the roof and jumped to the next building before nearly landing on the Root agent watching his apartment. The man did not move until both teens had a good start before following. Shortly after that, Cat rose from her own hiding spot and much more discretely headed for the Hokage Tower.

* * *

When the pair had returned to their hideout, they ate the fruit and field rations Naruto had brought. Naruto passed her some of the weapons he had brought as well. A quick look into the pouch showed them to be actual weapons not the training ones they normally had. Sakura looked at them like they were bugs but sighed and took them anyhow.

"How did you get your hands on real weapons, Naruto? We can't buy these yet," she asked

"You would be surprised at some of the things you can find lying around in the training fields, Sakura-chan. I would make pocket money collecting the lost and broken weapons and selling them to the blacksmiths. I just kept a few for myself."

"But why do we need them now?" she persisted.

"We need to look armed and dangerous, Sakura-chan. We supposedly attacked two teachers. For that, we need to have weapons. We also might have to fight at some point," he said.

They sat in silence after that. Sakura drifted to sleep while Naruto was just watching the moonlight cross the floor when a noise drew his attention. A voice drifted in the silence, "Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, come with me if you wish to get out of this situation."

Naruto shook Sakura awake before he whispered, "How do we get out of this? We won't go to the Legions."

"You have nowhere else to turn, Uzumaki. I can offer you an … alternative to what you face now. Murder charges carry the death penalty. One of the instructors died this afternoon," the voice continued.

Sakura whispered now, "If you betray us too, I'll stab you just like I did them."

"The flower is deadly. Good. We can use that. Now, come down and join me. We have patrols to avoid and little time before ANBU begins to search. No one expected mere students to hide so well."

The teens slowly opened the door and exited the building. A man in a mask much like an ANBU waited. "Now, follow me. If you fail to follow or attract attention, the offer will be rescinded."

Naruto and Sakura followed the masked ninja for over an hour as he moved in an almost random fashion around the village. They nearly lost him once but reached the goal the person intended. They were directed to go down an access into the tunnels under the village. The heavy iron cover slid into place with a clank and the pair descended into the unknown.

* * *

Next Chapter: Descent into Darkness

* * *

**End Notes:  
**The game is afoot. But whose game are they playing here? Who stands with whom? The pieces are in motion and the outcome remains unknown (except to me, heh)

**Review Notes:  
**The instructor just managed to stumble into things, poor guy. He triggered things before any faction was ready to strike.

The Chunin Exams are just weeks away. Then the month long break before the Finals. Time on the Naruto universe is never really stated. I have read many different ideas regarding it. Some have placed the Wave mission after 2 months as ninja for Team 7. Then another 4 -5 months after that before the Chunin Exams while others have the Chunin Exams immediately after. I am using the idea that there were several months time between the major events. The first part would be occurring 2 weeks after the originally planned finishing of Naruto's remedial training. Of course, the kids are not finishing it now.

**Parting Shot:**  
I don't normally recommend stories. However, I did see one that has some serious possibilites of being great. It is called 'A Monk's Tale' by gman391. It can be found under just single character searching 'Naruto'. His last update was on Apr 13 when I posted this on Apr 14.


	8. Descent Into Darkness

**Descent into Darkness**

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage was annoyed. He should have been pleased because his plan was finally working. If anything his plan was going _too_ well. This meeting with the investigators and other people involved in the case was more window dressing but it could turn against the people he was trying to protect.

"All right, we are all here. Inoichi, what has happened with this case?" he asked.

Yamanaka Inoichi stood and looked at the various people in the room. "Well, this started out looking like a simple fight between two teachers that got out of hand. However, other evidence has been gathered by ANBU to show it is something else entirely. Yesterday morning, a shop owner found some bloody uniforms in her trash. ANBU was called since they handle things of that nature. A routine check of other businesses close by showed that a ninja supply store had been burglarized during the night. Several shelves had been knocked over and the owner thinks some clothing may have been taken."

"The uniforms had the names of Haruno and Uzumaki sewn into them. The pair was then called in for questioning but neither could be found. A wider search of the village by multiple genin squads turned up nothing. The apartment of Uzumaki was sealed pending further investigation. The blood on the clothing was analyzed and found to match both men in the attack."

"The past 12 hours have changed things. The hospital reports that one of the instructors involved has died of his wounds. During the night, the apartment of Uzumaki had been entered in spite of seals on all doors and windows. Multiple items had been removed including food and weapons. We were unable to trace them once they left the roof. Inuzuka hounds at the scene to track the culprits were rendered useless by sneezing powder."

"Weapons? How did a student get hold of real weapons?" one secretary asked.

"ANBU and jonin reports show that Uzumaki scavenges used and broken weaponry from training areas he has access to and sells the materials he gathers to local blacksmiths. He has done this for years now. He kept a portion of what he found."

"Continuing on, Officers interviewed members of the class one of the wounded instructors was assigned. Uzumaki and Haruno were members of that class and had been frequently punished for sleeping in class or not paying attention. They had been asked to remain after class the day before the attacks. Class records show they were on the edge of being failed completely. The files of the two also had a consequence for failing the class of being sent to the Daimyo's Legions."

The generated a murmur in the briefing room. Being sent to the Legions was for criminals and thieves. It involved having a person's chakra sealed and the person branded. It was a painful process that many would commit suicide to avoid. Sarutobi just sat quietly with a stern look on his face.

"Intelligence has come up with the following chain of event based on current evidence. The instructor wanted to see Uzumaki and Haruno likely to inform them that they were failing the class. The pair must have attacked him and wounded him. The noise would have attracted another instructor. This person had been an earlier instructor for the pair and interviews show he was harsher on the pair than their current one. He was wounded much more heavily. We think they then set things up to look like the instructors had attacked each other and fled. In the Merchant's District, they burglarized a clothing shop and threw out the bloody clothing. We have no clue what they did next as we have been unable to locate them."

One of the jonin in the room sneered, "How hard is it to find a pair of students? You must not have been trying very hard."

Inoichi looked back, "Yesterday we were looking for a pair of students who might have been witnesses to a crime. We did not assume at the time they might have been responsible for it. The evidence of the bloody clothing was not connected to the case until late last night. Different divisions were handling two separate cases. Once they were brought together the larger case is more sinister."

Nara Shikaku spoke up next, "Do not forget, this boy is Uzumaki Naruto. He has demonstrated in the past an ability to hide and evade capture that is far beyond his training level. His painting of the Hokage Mountain and subsequent chase around Konoha should be noted as such a feat showing his level of skill. His only true weakness is his lack of discipline and impetuousness. Haruno is a highly intelligent girl whose only reason for being in that class was her lack of physical ability in the Academy. If they are working in concert, they would be a formidable team. My son and Inoichi's daughter went to Academy with these two. Uzumaki had a large crush on the girl and would be easily swayed if both were desperate. Her intelligence coupled with his skills and the past six months of intense military training would make them the equal of most genin teams."

Sarutobi growled, "I have heard enough. Send word to all ninja in Konoha. I want the pair of them captured and brought in alive. With Uzumaki's 'condition', his death or the death of the girl could trigger him to release what he contains. This will not be allowed to happen. I trust the Yondaime's seal but it is also powered by his will. Up until now, he has not been given a reason to release the demon. But I foolishly allowed my anger at him to influence my decisions about him. Bring them both in alive unless you wish for Konoha to die."

The meeting adjourned. Sarutobi motioned for Inoichi and Shikaku to remain behind. He spoke to the jonin in low tones, "Thank you for your help in this briefing. At least two of Danzo's people were in this meeting. The information you presented would make most sensible people afraid to try to kill either Naruto or Sakura so that is the best we can do for them for now."

"Tell Ibiki to get all the men he can trust absolutely. In less than 72 hours, we are going to pull out this offending Root. Shibi should have a solid location trace by then."

* * *

The room they were waiting in was barely lit by a single 15 watt bulb. Naruto sat somewhat calmly trying to look like he was meditating while Sakura was nervous in the enclosed space. Finally she snapped, "How can you just sit there calmly, Naruto. They left us alone in here."

Naruto opened one eye and looked at Sakura, "No, they haven't. We're still on duty." When the pink haired girl looked at him, he raised one eyebrow slightly. She seemed to get the message and started to calm down.

"_Sakura-chan, I ALWAYS know when someone is watching me, even the ANBU."_

The words rung in her memory. They were being watched and tested right now. They were 'on duty'.

* * *

"Interesting," a voice murmured. "They have some more intimate knowledge of each other than we had thought.

"What do you mean, Sir?" asked one person in the darkness.

"He was reassuring her. Did you notice how she calmed down after he spoke?"

"What shall we do about it, Danzo-sama?"

"Nothing for now. Assign them to trainer 6; he only has one student at this time. They might work well with that one. His emotional training is nearly complete and his skills would compliment the pair. I am loathe to separate them until they get more conditioned. Keeping them together is a smaller security risk. If what our people say is true, disposing of her directly could cause trouble. Keep them away from the core areas."

* * *

Sakura looked up as the door finally opened. A gray haired boy in his late teens stood there. "Exit the room and follow," was all he said. Naruto and Sakura looked at each other before following. The older teen led them along a winding path until they came to another room. The teen gestured for Naruto and Sakura to enter. The room they entered was tiled and looked like a shower room.

"Remove all of your clothing and place it on the table," the teen said in a steady voice as he pointed to a table. Naruto and Sakura just looked at him. When neither moved, the teen repeated, "Remove all of your clothing and place it on the table. Compliance is required."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched as her temper flared. "I am _not_ getting naked in front of you perverts."

The gray haired teen just looked at Sakura. "Failure to comply will result in your being removed from this facility and turned over to the Hokage to exact the death sentence awaiting you for the killing of a Konoha ninja. Remove all of your clothing and place it on the table."

Slowly, Naruto started removing his clothes and shortly afterward Sakura started to remove hers as well. The gray haired boy waited in silence in the hallway without a sign of emotion on his face. Sakura's anger faded as her sense of modesty took over. She glanced at Naruto who made sure to stare at a spot on the wall just over the door. Inside she smiled, as she knew he was trying to respect her as much as he could. She had wished someone she loved would be the first to see her naked but that option had gone when they agreed to this mission. Her anger returned enough for her to not try to hide behind her arms, as the older teen had not even reacted.

"Wash yourselves then return to this spot," the gray haired teen said as he pointed at the showers. Naruto just turned and just went to the shower deliberately not looking at Sakura. She turned as well and went. The water was tepid at best and only had 'On' and 'Off' as settings. Both quickly finished and waited back where they had started. The older teen had removed everything from the table and it only contained two towels, two plain jumpsuits and their sandals.

"You will be taken to your sleeping quarters now," he said in that annoying monotone of his.

Naruto leaned close to Sakura after they had dried and gotten the jumpsuits on. Before he could speak a word, the older boy said, "Talking outside of relaying mission information is prohibited."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the gray haired teen but decided to bide his time. Instead he spoke in a low voice, "I assume there is some list of all these rules of yours somewhere?"

"All Root members do as they are commanded to, that is all you need to worry about," was the reply.

"Funny, I don't recall saying I was becoming a Root member," Naruto countered in the same low tone as before. "I was made an offer of an alternative and I've seen so far are flunkies. I am waiting for the rest of the offer."

"You followed, you entered this facility. That implies acceptance. If you go against that, you risk harm befalling your comrade."

"You harm one hair on Sakura-chan and I will bring this entire complex down around your ears," Naruto said with a growl.

"That is a hollow threat. If you do so, you will kill Haruno as well."

Sakura watched this interplay, soaking up information. This gray haired person was under complete control of himself. He did not even look like his heart had sped up once.

"Naruto," Sakura said in an equally low tone. "We need the place to hide for now."

Naruto took a deep breath and relaxed his posture.

* * *

The monitor screen flickered in the darkness. "It seems Haruno does have some effect on Uzumaki as well. Did you notice his whole posture had become more feral until Haruno spoke to him? She might be of more use than we had first thought if she can help control him."

"We shall see," Danzo replied. "We shall see. Wake them after one hour of sleep but do not let them know how much time has passed. After that, they never get more than four hours of rest per day."

* * *

Naruto and Sakura were led to adjacent cells close to the shower room. Each was a 10 ft by 6 ft with a sleeping mat and a toilet. The gray haired teen ushered each into a cell and the doors were bolted from the outside. Sakura lay down to rest some in spite of not really needing sleep yet. The sleeping mat was barely thicker than a gym mat. 'They apparently do not go for comfort here. I hope Naruto was able to keep track of where we are. I lost track after we were brought underground. Between low light and large areas with none, I cannot even be sure if we passed any side tunnels.'

Naruto lay back as well. He was troubled by the fact that the Old Man had not given them a means to contact him. He understood the reasons from his training in the past six months but he still didn't like it. Sleep nagged at the edge of his consciousness as he thought of what else he could do.

Barely after both teens had fallen asleep, they were awakened. The gray haired boy had both of them follow him to an open area but still underground. "This is where you shall train. In Root, there is only the mission. Your mission right now is to obey. For you training, I have been given the name 'Shin'. There will be another joining us shortly. Until then, you will spar with each other."

Naruto and Sakura faced each other and began with basic sparring motions when Shin called for them to stop. "That is not sparring. You are merely exercising. When you spar here, you are doing your best to deal damage to your opponent. Do you understand?"

Naruto was tempted to glare but only replied, "Yes, Sir." He faced Sakura again and went at her full force. He quickly broke through her defenses and sent her to the floor gasping for air from a punch to her abdomen.

Shin spoke in the same dull tone as before, "Only by fighting at your hardest will a person learn to defend properly. If they cannot defend themselves, they will be dead weight on a mission and cause it to fail. By getting rid of the dead weight, we make Konoha stronger. Again."

Naruto looked as Sakura got into the ready position again. He took a deep breath and waited.

"Why are you hesitating? Attack," Shin commanded.

Naruto spoke up, "It was Sakura's turn to attack. I need to defend as well."

"There is no waiting in training. If you are not on mission or training, you are wasting time. In Root, we do not waste our time on such things. Attack."

Naruto attacked once more. He broke Sakura's defenses once more and threw her to the ground. He hesitated once more.

"Attack," Shin commanded. "She is not defeated. Only knocked down."

Naruto growled and was about to turn on Shin when Sakura swept his legs out from under him. He fell flat on his back, momentarily stunned. Sakura rolled into a summersault and brought both heels down on Naruto's chest.

He coughed loudly as he could not breathe for a moment before Sakura struck again with an elbow just below his sternum. He swung a backhand into her face to get her off of him. She rolled with it so it did little damage as she quickly rose to her feet. Naruto rolled onto all fours when she kicked him in the ribs. He caught the foot with one arm against his body. He turned his head to look at Sakura.

Sakura shifted her weight to her trapped leg and lifted her other foot to kick Naruto in the face. He let loose his grip on her foot as he rolled away. Both staggered to their feet as Naruto checked his nose for breakage. It was only bloody. He snorted in and spat out blood to one side. She took settled into a stance and found her ankle hurting slightly, likely a twist from her last fall with Naruto holding it.

"Continune," Shin said in his same monotone.

"Come on, Naruto. Not going to let a girl beat you, are you?" Sakura taunted.

Naruto and Sakura both attacked.

* * *

A single bug crawled out of a sewer grate and took to the air. A short time later a patrol of ANBU stopped nearby. They searched a building before going to the next and on down the block. Roughly an hour after they left, a long line of rice sized bugs marched in files down the grate.

* * *

Yuugao was off duty that evening so she made it a point to visit Hiro. She found Hiro talking to Kakashi. Both men got quiet once she entered the shop. "No need to stop on my account, boys," she commented. "We're all on the same side here."

Hiro smiled and waved Yuugao over. "I was just telling Kakashi about the burglary I had the other night. He just got back into town from a long mission."

"Yeah, a pair of desperate criminals I heard," Yuugao said with a chuckle.

"I heard a rumor they snuck past a pair of genin teams and ANBU seals on every door and window into Uzumaki's apartment," Hiro said. "That boy is as good as the gang said. How the hell did he NOT pass the Academy, Kakashi?"

"The exit exam is not geared toward someone having so much chakra that they overload a simple clone plus certain people made sure he would not pass on his own merits," Kakashi replied. "I peeked in on him a few times since then. Getting proper training, he was a certain pass but now I wonder what is going to happen."

"Don't forget Pinkie either, Kakashi," Yuugao growled out. "You failed her already. All she needed was a serious dose of reality and she improved almost as fast as Uzumaki did under quality training. Both of them have Potential written all over them."

Kakashi looked stunned. "You're not serious, are you?"

Yuugao smirked, "Completely serious. I think Inu needs to go have a discussion with the Primary about this as soon as possible. No tardiness either."

Kakashi narrowed his lone eye. 'She is very serious if she brings THAT into this. Even with Hiro a part of the gang and all, mentioning it in the open like that is dangerous.'

Kakashi muttered, "I'll let him know about it." The one-eyed jonin left with a troubled look on his face.

Hiro waited a few minutes before speaking, "He wasn't in on the Hokage's plans, was he?"

"No, Sarutobi-sama had intended to make Kakashi the kid's jonin sensei along with Pinkie and the Uchiha. He figured a team so much like his own genin squad might pull the scarecrow out of his mental funk. On duty, the man is a genius but off duty, he's a mental cripple. After seeing what we found after the kid failed and everything with Root being dug up, the Hokage figured he should focus on digging out Root before something happened in Konoha."

"I also heard the Uchiha is not fitting in too well with his current team," Hiro chuckled.

"A huge understatement there Hiro. The kid is causing more problems than Uzumaki had with pranks. I have heard teething babies whine less than that primadonna. That team is so dysfunctional they are screwing up D-ranks. That boy needs someone his own age to knock him on his butt. The only reason that team even has a C-rank to qualify for the Exams in a few weeks is that the Hokage wanted a quiet couple of weeks and sent them on a snipe hunt near the border with Wind Country looking for bandits."

Hiro roared with laughter until Yuugao threatened to hit him.

* * *

Sakura felt like she had been run over by a wagon. Even with Naruto's help she could barely stand as the pair was led to the showers. She did not even care Naruto was right behind her as she pulled off the jumpsuit to wash. She just looked down her body. The bruises were already forming. She could have gone easier but she was doing what needed to be done. The taunts she had made to get Naruto to fight all out had hurt her physically once he had really gotten going. She just put her hands on the wall and let the water rain down over her head.

Naruto had only glanced at Sakura to make sure she would not collapse. The bruises he saw on her legs and back made him wince. He did not even get a stirring from seeing her naked. All he felt was guilt that he had beaten his only friend so badly. His own bruises were fading like they always had for him. In about an hour he would be recovered as if he had never fought.

"Sakura-chan, I'm sorry," he said in a quiet voice.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto. I hit you often enough in the past. Some payback is karma, eh?" she said just as quietly. "Besides, we're still on duty. No time for friends on duty, remember?"

Naruto looked at the tile in front of him. "I don't think they're going to let us be off duty anymore, Sakura-chan," he said.

Sakura didn't reply. She just nodded.

* * *

Sarutobi glared at Kakashi as the jonin was standing on the other side of his desk. He had been about to leave the office when Kakashi had shown up.

"Cat suggested that Inu have a talk with the Primary, Hokage-sama," Kakashi said in a contrite voice.

Sarutobi sat down and shook his head slowly, 'So much for a quiet evening to rest while other people make the needed preparations'. He was not in the mood to deal with Kakashi right now but the jonin would be an asset in the next few days.

"Kakashi, I don't know if I can trust Inu right now. I need someone who is all there, not a burnout," he said in a slow deliberate voice.

Kakashi's visible eye widened at what the Hokage had said. "Sir, I …'

"No, just listen Kakashi. I wanted you to be a jonin sensei to a team that even you would not turn down if you took the time to look 'underneath the underneath' as you like to say. Haruno, Uchiha, and Uzumaki were my original choices for your Team. That was a deliberate choice on my part to help you. They would have been a mirror of Team Minato before your incident. Other circumstances forced me to change that decision."

Kakashi seemed to shrink into himself at what the Hokage had said. His mind took in what the leader had said and saw the parallels; Naruto as Obito, Sakura as Rin and Sasuke as Kakashi. The Hokage was trying to give him a chance to redeem himself in his own eyes by not failing his team this time. But he had failed the Team he had been given because he was not looking forward, just dwelling in the past. Without Naruto in the mix, he had not seen the similarities.

"So you understand a little now, Kakashi. Instead, something even I had not planned on has come about. While Inu's back was turned on Naruto, Danzo's minions were slowly poisoning his chances and making him an outcast. WHILE HE WAS UNDER INU'S PROTECTION!" Sarutobi finished with a shout. "His father would be disappointed in you, Kakashi."

Kakashi had no reply to the accusation because he knew it was true.

"Right now, Naruto and Sakura are in the hands of Danzo and his Root. They are the bait to lead us to the nest of that traitor. By tomorrow evening, everything should be in place to rip it out completely. I have a special assignment for Inu to redeem himself, Kakashi."

Kakashi looked up.

"During the raid, Inu's assignment will be to rescue and bring out his students, Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

Sakura felt like she had just lain down when her cell door opened and she was told to get up by Shin. The second day of 'physical training' had been worse than the first. All of her bruises pained her and she could barely move. She struggled to get up and obey the gray haired boy. A callused hand slid into hers. She lifted her head to see it was Naruto helping her to her feet. She stretched slightly as the pair walked after Shin. The small eating area had another person in it today, a dark haired boy with pale white skin. It looked like he had rarely been out in the sun. He looked up from his bowl of something without expression.

Naruto pushed Sakura into a chair and went up to the serving area to return with two bowls of … something brown. He slid one to Sakura along with a spoon. Even after a few meals like this, she could not even think of the goop as food. It had no taste and there was nothing to give it any. The only difference in it was that the color changed slightly each time. Tofu tasted good in comparison.

In spite of her disgust, she began shoveling it into her mouth. Her hunger would not wait. What passed for food never seemed to fill her up. She was exhausted. She tried to focus past her sore muscles and bruises. She had gotten to sleep three times since coming to this place. None of them seemed to be for very long. She was getting used to simply doing what she was told. It felt worse than during remedial PT and later chakra training. They were starting to do something to her but she didn't have the energy to resist.

Naruto looked at Sakura eating almost mechanically. Her eyes told of her exhaustion but he was not much better. He was hungry. He was tired but he seemed to be finding the energy to keep going from somewhere. He was not getting better or worse off, just continuing to hold on at the same low point. Shin never showed any expression at them but Naruto did notice that the gray haired teen would keep working Naruto after Sakura couldn't continue. When she couldn't go on, Shin made the girl simply stand at attention while Naruto continued with exercises. Root was trying to break them.

Once the food was eaten, Shin indicated for them and the dark haired boy to follow.

* * *

Sarutobi called the clan leaders and all of his advisors together late in the afternoon. He needed to be a distraction on his own while his ANBU did the work. The upcoming Chunin Exams was a good reason to gather them all together. The Tower had many fewer people in it today. Several people had gotten sick during the morning and in the afternoon several more had begun vomiting. Sarutobi called for the meeting to be held in the Academy room 301 where the first exam would be given. Once Sarutobi left, ANBU slipped into the Tower and quietly took away about two dozen people.

Kakashi pulled out his old mask. The dog face on it almost mocked him. It looked like it was on guard but he knew he had not been that attentive when he last wore it. Inu had a good reputation once and now he had a chance to reclaim it in the future. He just had to reach out and take it. The mask slid into place.

Hiro got his people together. All the physically capable would watch the known exits of the underground tunnels Root preferred to work out of. Blue Aardvark had known more than it had let on. They were all over Konoha and while technically retired never quite gave up on being who they were. Bits of information always were passed between them and as a whole they passed it on to active duty ANBU members. Root had been a thorn to them since it had been officially disbanded but never dissolved. Now, it would be pulled out like the weed it was.

* * *

Next Chapter: Return to the Light

* * *

**End Notes:  
**This story is picking up once more. I hope the tension is built up enough. The secret civil war is about to begin.

**Review Notes:  
**Anonymous bad reviews will remain in the review list. I do not delete others opinions of my work. Only abusive ones will ever be deleted. So far that number remains at one and on another story.

I was aware of Shin and Sai and I have included them. Sai just made his appearance at the end of this one but will not really make a major impact. Shin I had as the keeper of Naruto and Sakura.

For graywizard-dumblemort, My Root in this story is not that large. Sarutobi was thinking in a worst case scenario. Up to about 10 - 15 percent of Konoha's total force would have had to be turned to get the number he feared but that would have been noticed and dealt with.


	9. Return to the Light

**Return to the Light**

Naruto and Sakura faced the dark haired boy together. So far he had beaten them both quite badly in sparring. Naruto was not certain but this guy had to be at least chunin level already and Shin had called him just another trainee. The blonde helped the pink haired girl to stand as he popped her dislocated finger back into place. Under his breath he talked to her, "Okay, I think I have a plan to get this guy at least once. Shin said it is a spar, right? But he never said anything about rules. We are using our best stuff on this guy and not getting anywhere separately. We need to work this together."

Sakura could barely open one swollen eye after the sparring from today and was willing to try anything at this point to get a few shots in. "What are we doing?"

"When you see me make a Ram seal close your eyes and wait for the flash. Then you take out his ability to breathe. I'm gonna beat on Shin too if he falls for it," Naruto said.

Sakura nodded and moved off to Naruto's left. Naruto charged headlong at the dark haired boy once more but pulled up at about 3 steps from him and focused his chakra and made a Ram seal.

Sakura ran up trailing and was ready for it. The chakra flash Naruto created lit the room bright enough to make Sakura's eyes hurt even when closed. The flash faded as she ran past and jumped at the dark haired teen. She saw his hands up by his face and she grinned ferally as her foot connected a side kick with the boy's stomach. She was surprised however when the boy shattered and she was sprayed with ink. Sakura managed to roll as the resistance to her kick vanished.

Naruto heard a sound to one side as the dark haired boy was scribbling on a scroll. He followed with a hand sign and a new clone rose. 'Dammit,' Naruto thought. 'He is one step ahead of us.' Naruto really wanted some weapons at that point. He was getting tired of everything in this place. He wanted to sleep. He wanted some ramen. He was fed up with playing to these traitors.

"Enough," Shin called out. "It is time to stop for now. Sakura let me see your hand."

Shin made a hand sign and his hand glowed green as he ran it over Sakura's finger. "Hmm, some minor damage to a couple of ligaments. Hold still." Shin then focused as he held the palm over the wounded area.

Naruto yelled, "You can heal but you let Sakura-chan be in pain from all kinds of bruising for days now! What about her eye?"

Shin looked at Naruto but still never changed his expression. "Healing simple bruising is a poor use of limited healing ability. The bruising reminds her that she should improve in her taijutsu ability. However, in the case of her finger she would be limited should the damage heal incorrectly. Waiting two weeks for that to occur would be a waste of valuable resources. In this case it makes sense to provide healing for that area."

Naruto grumbled his annoyance. He could not fathom why he was feeling so angry at everything the past day. Instead of dealing with Shin, he looked at the dark haired boy. "Do you have a name? Heck, can you even speak?"

The dark haired boy looked to Shin who nodded briefly as he still focused on Sakura's finger.

"I have no assigned name at this time," he said blankly

Naruto frowned, "I can't get your attention with a 'hey you'. I'll call you Gashi (Artist) since you draw stuff for jutsu."

Shin finished his healing on Sakura's finger and turned away. "Follow," he commanded.

* * *

Sarutobi was discussing the upcoming Chunin Exam with the clan elders and his advisors. He had always liked hearing other people's opinions and gave them weight in his own decision making. He agreed that allowing as many possible teams of genin to participate in the upcoming Exams would be a benefit to Konoha. Limiting it to just the Elites like on foreign Exams would never let Konoha find hidden diamonds in the rough. Some of the more revered clans grumbled at the idea but they understood that a strong Konoha would make them look better in the long term.

The meeting was interrupted when a noise of a body falling sounded outside the room. The ANBU at the door came to alert but recognized the ninja who came in the room. The ANBU who entered bowed to Sarutobi, "My apologies, Hokage-sama, a spy who was listening in on this meeting was just disposed of. Everything is secure."

"Good, send out the alert, Deer," Sarutobi replied.

The people in the meeting frowned at hearing of a spy but Sarutobi just raised a calming hand "We must always be cautious of spies and people who would harm the Konoha that we all love. Isn't that right, Danzo?" he asked.

The old crippled advisor nodded, "Konoha must always be protected, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi hardened his features and looked squarely at Danzo. "I take it that your failure at disbanding Root when ordered was you way of protecting Konoha, Danzo?"

Danzo narrowed his sole eye at Sarutobi, "What are you referring to, Hokage-sama? Root was stopped after the last war at your order. It no longer exists."

"The time for games is over, Danzo. The spy the ANBU just eliminated was your man. The same man that has followed you to every meeting in the Tower for the past year. Your spies working in the Tower administration have been apprehended. Your facility is being raided as we speak. If you truly love Konoha, surrender and take your punishment."

Danzo stood and glared at Sarutobi. "What kind of lies have been filtering into your senile old mind, Sarutobi?" he countered.

"No lies, Danzo. Just that he time has come to put an end to your plans to turn Konoha into an aggressive power. To make sure that our children and grandchildren can have a chance to live in peace," Sarutobi said.

Danzo sneered, "Peace, feh. The only way to live in peace is to be the strongest power in the world. You are letting Konoha grow weak with your soft ways, letting ninja 'retire' instead of using them as the weapons they are. You talk of peace and allow lesser villages to grow strong. You allow enemy ninja to live and allow bandits to be turned over to daimyos for trial instead of executing them as you should!"

"That is the law the Daimyo set forth and Konoha will obey it. We serve him, not the other way around. As far as my so called 'softness', people should not live in fear of their rulers. Ninja who follow through loyalty will always be better than those that follow through fear. You never understood that love of family and friends makes a Konoha ninja strong and willing to do the hard things; to make the hard choices. Every Hokage has known this and done so. And now I have to as well."

Danzo scoffed, "What do you mean by a hard cho-"

Danzo's question was cut off as his good arm was removed from his body by an ANBU tanto. A hidden kunai clattered to the floor from Danzo's kimono.

The assembled people were splattered with blood before the ANBU covered the wound.

"The choice of whether or not to let you live, Danzo," Sarutobi said quietly.

* * *

The hawk flying over Konoha made the signal it was trained to make.

In various areas of Konoha, teams sprung into action.

* * *

Single jonin entered shops in various parts of the village. They requested that the owner of the business come with them. The Hokage had questions for them regarding their business practices.

* * *

A team of chunin led by a jonin entered the quartermaster. They took a certain man into custody. Once they had left, another man tried sneaking out the back door only to be apprehended by ANBU as an accomplice.

* * *

The hidden entrances to the Root warren were flung open by ANBU who rushed into the lair. Traps set off by the forced opening of the portals killed or wounded more than a dozen ANBU and set off an alarm inside. Those dead ANBU melted into mud or water or simply dissipated into chakra smoke.

The second wave entered into the lair. An Aburame clan member accompanied each team and pointed the way past false passages and dead ends. The alert was silenced after seconds but it served its purpose. Some additional masked ninja appeared in the passage to stop the invaders but a brief fight ensued. The ANBU were limited to hand to hand encounters with kunai due to the narrow passages but this did not stop the Root ninja. One rushed ahead to combat and block one team while his comrade spat out a fire jutsu in his wake. The Root ninja died along with the ANBU team. The jutsu user fled from the flaming bodies to wait and ambush another group.

In another passage, the shouts of the dying team echoed. The Aburame in this squad paused and pointed to a spot in a shadowed alcove. Flung kunai peppered the shadow before a single Root ninja collapsed out of it. With that ambush thwarted, the Aburame waved the team forward.

* * *

Naruto and Sakura stopped eating and both looked up as the alert sounded. Shin and the dark haired boy Naruto had dubbed Gashi both looked around before Shin stood.

"Follow," he commanded as he strode out of the room. Gashi followed immediately and Sakura looked at Naruto who shrugged and got up to follow. The spies caught up to the Root agents outside of the door. Shin looked both ways and listened before heading down a corridor Naruto and Sakura had never been down.

"What is going on?" Naruto asked in a low voice. Shin was back at him in a moment with a drawn kunai to Naruto's neck.

"If you speak again, you will die. Nod if you understand," he hissed.

Naruto nodded and felt the kunai leave his throat.

"Follow," Shin ordered again and moved off quickly with the other three following.

* * *

Inu was impatient as his team made their way deeper in the Root labyrinth. He trusted Shibi's clansman and followed along behind the guide. Every so often their guide would call his bugs back within his body as the team passed through certain areas. The chunin finally led them to a room that looked like a shower.

The Aburame would not enter the shower room. "This is where the primary scent trail leads to. A lesser scent trail leaves the room. Logic says it would be their gear. The scent does not leave the room otherwise."

Kakashi silently moved into the room and lightly opened one tap. The barely noticeable scent of something was mixed with the water. He nodded. It was a means of avoiding the Aburame destruction bugs. He shut off the water and nicked his thumb on a kunai. Five hand signs later, a number of ninja hounds sat in the room.

"Yo," said a pug. "This place stinks."

"I know, Pakkun. I need your noses. We need to find a pair of kids down here. They are doused in whatever scent this room is putting on them. The dogs all sniffed around the room and headed out the door. They growled and yipped at each other as they cast about for the most current scent. Finally Pakkun spoke to Kakashi, "The most recent one is here. They keep following the same trails."

Kakashi nodded and turned to the Aburame. "Take the squad with you and follow your bug's original scent trail. Likely that should be an equipment room of some kind. Secure that and recover anything belonging to the targets."

The group with Kakashi nodded and took off down a different hall. Kakashi turned and followed his hounds deeper into the labyrinth. They quickly found a training room and beyond that an eating area with several half eaten bowls of … something green. The hounds all avoided the bowls. The freshest trail led out a different doorway. Kakashi had the scent himself now and hurried after the missing youths.

* * *

Naruto stumbled after Shin and Gashi and helped along Sakura as they heard voices and battles in the corridors around them. The two older boys knew their way through this maze of passages and Naruto didn't. Something serious was happening. They passed a single body wearing a mask but not wearing normal ANBU clothes. 'He must be a Root member,' Naruto thought.

Out of a side tunnel, a wounded ANBU operative appeared and grappled with Naruto. The man dropped a small gas pellet, which puffed out a cloud around Naruto and Sakura. The blonde could only grab onto the man in a reaction and try to not get carried to the floor. Sakura slumped against the wall for a moment before responding to the attack. Her leg came up between her enemy's legs at full force. There was a grunt before the man paused in his attack on Naruto. A second kick did the job as the man released Naruto. The blonde followed up by grabbing the head and held it while he struck with a knee directly to the mask of the ANBU where he estimated was the chin. The mask shattered under the force of the blow and the man fall to the ground stunned.

Naruto grunted in pain. 'Okay, that was not a good idea to do that. It just looked so cool in the movies I figured it was a real move. Those masks are HARD,' he thought. He stumbled away from the fallen man and hurried after Shin and Gashi. The entire melee had taken under 10 seconds. Neither of them had even thought about it, just reacted.

Shin led them deeper into the tunnels.

* * *

Four ninja boiled up out of the ground into the alley. The masked Root ninja quickly shed their armor and masks. Without the distinctive Root garb, they could pass as ordinary ninja and clear the area to safety. The three men and one woman then quietly began to walk toward the marketplace when a fireball forced them back into the alley. A group of blue masked ninja wearing blue robes stood on the eaves above them. "Surrender, Root ninja. You cannot escape," one spoke in an authoritative voice.

The woman pulled out a handful of kunai with exploding tags and activated them in the same motion. Before she could hurl them, she was struck by a half dozen kunai herself. The activated tags fell to the ground and exploded. The buildings on both sides of the alley were heavily damaged by the blast. The four Root ninja died. The blue masked ninja jumped down to render aid to the wounded civilians.

* * *

A jonin was leading what appeared to be a squad of chunin out one gate of Konoha when a swarm of bugs landed on the group. The ninja all screamed as their chakra was drained. The gate guards were shocked by this and went to aid the team until an ANBU motioned for them to wait. "They are spies."

The guards were scared and one stammered out, "But their papers were legitimate."

The ANBU only nodded, "The papers likely were legitimate. However, the people were not. Bind them and do not let them escape. Someone will come for them shortly." The ANBU returned to hiding after that while the bugs retreated back into the trees.

* * *

Another explosion rocked the market district. The ground under a shop collapsed as its hidden supports were destroyed. Several ninja leapt out of the hole and raced off in several directions past screaming civilians. A pair of ANBU followed as two others lay wounded. One woman was knocked out but was being tended to by her teammate as he wrapped a bandage over his own wound. The moving wounded ANBU waved off the healthy team members to pursue the enemy. They could only follow two of the escaping enemy. They split up and pursued.

* * *

Inu made his way following the scent. Fear laced into the trail now as Pakkun led the way. He saw a wounded ANBU struggling to rise. He paused to help the man and the agent gasped out, "I saw the blonde and pink haired kids down here. I tried to gas them but they took me by surprise after catching a good whiff of it. Watch out for her kicks cause she got really good aim."

Inu nodded, "How long ago?"

"Not even two minutes ago," the man gasped out in a cough.

Kakashi continued on his mission. Now a moment of doubt crept into his mind. Had the teens gone over to the side of Root?

* * *

A lone Root ninja crawled out of the tunnels and looked about with no expression. Danzo-sama must have fallen in his efforts to bring Konoha to glory. He stripped his clothing and doused himself with a bucket full of what looked like water. A vigorous scrub of his hair and a small bug fell out of the short strands. The man dried himself and put on civilian clothing. The young merchant would go back to his store and blend back into the population.

His walk down the street was halted as a pair of men in blue robes appeared on either side of him. The Root man never noticed the senbon that impacted his neck as darkness took him.

* * *

A squad entered a hallway full of bolted rooms. Panicked voices sounded from within. The masked Special Forces peeked into the various rooms. A dozen children of various ages between five and ten were rescued from confinement. The older children seemed much more sedate than the younger showing they had gone through some sort of emotional training.

* * *

The squad originally with Kakashi had only a single person to deal with as they secured the equipment room. From within a weapons pouch belonging to Naruto crawled single Aburame destruction bug. It flew over to land on the Aburame chunin and rest on the man's shoulder as it took in chakra. The man knew it was not one of his own colony but allowed the small bug to feed. He dispersed his own bugs into the room and they quickly identified the personal property of the targets. The squad gathered the items and departed before sealing the room behind them.

* * *

Sakura was in a haze now. She had just reacted when the masked man had attacked Naruto. She clung to the blonde as he led the pink haired girl through the tunnels. The last of her strength was gone. She just wanted to eat, to get some sleep, to not have any more pain. She finally just closed her eyes and let herself slip away.

Naruto suddenly found himself bearing the entire weight of his friend. He stopped to lift her up in his arms.

Ahead of him Shin and Gashi stopped as well. "Leave her," Shin commanded. "The mission comes first. Our mission is to escape."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the gray haired teen before him, "Not without Sakura-chan."

Shin stepped closer. "You will be caught by the ANBU if you slow down. They will execute you for killing a Konoha ninja," he said in the same monotone.

Naruto backed up step for step as Shin moved forward. He was tired and he could barely hold up Sakura. He had no weapons and no idea where under Konoha he was. The anger he felt kept gnawing at the back of his mind. He just decided to finally tell his taskmaster off.

Shin felt the edge of worry appear in his mind for the first time he could recall. Naruto's eyes subtly changed as the blonde stood straighter. The color changed from blue to red as he spoke in a voice laced with hatred.

"I will _not_ leave my friend behind. If I have to face death to protect her then I'll face death. Damn your mission and damn you! I am a ninja of Konohakagure no Sato and we do not leave our comrades behind like trash!"

A voice behind him spoke out, "Well said, Naruto. Please step aside so I may deal with these Root traitors."

Naruto lost his focus as soon as he heard the voice. His eyes returned to their normal blue color as he turned his head to look. Shin darted forward at Naruto with a kunai poised to strike. Naruto swung around to put his back between the blade and Sakura but a pug attacked Shin from a shadow. Naruto fell to the ground as Kakashi slid past him.

The battle was as brief as it was violent. Shin could not defend himself with Pakkun hanging on his arm. Kakashi stabbed the gray haired boy in each shoulder then kicked the teen's feet out from under him. Shin fell and took a blow to the temple before he could even hit the ground. Kakashi faced Gashi next. The dark haired boy had only stood while Kakashi and Shin fought.

"Surrender and you will be allowed to live," Kakashi said.

Gashi looked at Kakashi then at Shin as if needing orders. Kakashi took control of the situation by closing the gap and knocking out the unresisting teen. He pulled out some bits of wire to bind both Root ninja.

Naruto was lightly shaking Sakura trying to wake her. She was still breathing so he was not very worried. He felt drained and wanted to collapse even more than ever. He lay her down on the ground and shakily stood back up as he kept feeling weaker.

Kakashi turned to see the blonde haired boy tending to his friend, "Time to go, Naruto. Time to get you back home."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and blinked trying to clear up his tunnel vision. He kept trying to remember. He had seen this ANBU before. "Inu? You … you used to carry me home ... when I always got lost in Konoha … a long time ago."

The dog masked Kakashi nodded, "So you do remember that, Naruto. Good. The Hokage was worried and sent me to get the pair of you out of here."

Naruto nodded slowly as his eyes were closing. "So where we going now, Inu?"

Kakashi caught the blonde as he collapsed and he laid the boy next to Sakura. "Back into the light, Naruto. All three of us."

* * *

Naruto woke suddenly and sat up in the hospital bed. He looked side to side and his eyes focused on the flash of pink he saw in the next bed. Sakura lay sleeping on the bed next to him. He actually felt better than he had in weeks. His stomach felt a bit off but other than that he was good. He wasn't even angry anymore. The wires taped to his head and chest were the first things he removed as he glanced about the room.

The door opening quietly put him on alert. A nurse came in with a smile on her face. He could see a guard outside the room before it closed. The nurse stopped at the foot of the bed.

"You're awake a lot sooner than expected Uzumaki-san," she said. "With what you went through the past week we thought you would be out at least another day."

Naruto looked at her warily, "What do you mean? Where am I?"

"In the hospital of course," she said with a smile. "You and Haruno-san were in bad shape when the ANBU brought you in. If you would excuse me, I need to send word to Hokage-sama that you have awakened."

Naruto was confused, "Um, yeah, sure."

Once the nurse had left; Naruto lay back to think. The past few days were a blur in his memory. They had an almost dreamlike quality to them. He recalled Shin, Gashi, the tunnels, and finally Inu. His guilt over hurting Sakura during the sparring returned. He just sat in silence as the time passed. He seemed bursting with energy and it took all of the self discipline he had learned the past six months to not get up and run around.

The door opened once more to admit an old man, the Hokage. The smile on his face after so long was like a warm sun after a cold winter's day for the boy. "Hey, Old Man," he said softly.

The Hokage stopped at the foot of his bed still smiling. "I am glad you're recovering so fast, Naruto. It seems Sakura is getting along better as well. You both had us worried when you arrived. Both of you were suffering from chakra exhaustion."

Naruto looked at him confused. "Um, Sir, Old Man, how long have we been here?"

"Two days already. The destruction of Root went well. We got their base and most of their key people and ninja. Without you being taken to their headquarters, we would never have found it in that maze they built down there. I have teams still down there mapping it out for missing areas before we fill it in. I think we can call your mission completed."

"Most?" Naruto wondered.

Sarutobi smiled, "I had Aburame Shibi plant a few of his clan's destruction bugs on each of you. Once you reached the base, some left you and returned down the back trail and found ways out that avoided the defenses Root had installed against them. Then more went into the base and marked every person in there. This allowed us to capture some that had been there but left. I assume some members of Root have escaped by the simple fact that they had not gone to the base during the time the bugs were settling on everyone."

"Bugs?" said a confused Sakura in a soft voice.

"Sakura-chan! You're awake," cried out an excited Naruto.

"Yeah," she grumped. "Turn down the volume." Sakura was obviously not a morning person.

Naruto ducked his head slightly, "Sorry."

The Hokage chuckled. "As I was saying, the Aburame bugs got carried into the base by the pair of you and sent back several as guides to the main colony. They infiltrated the Root warren and attached to every person in there. We were able to identify several who had left by the time our raid occurred."

Naruto grinned, "So we did good, Old Man?"

Sakura threw a pillow at his head. "Show the Hokage some respect, Naruto," she said.

The teens made faces at one another for a minute before a laughing Sarutobi broke in. "All right, settle down. There are a few downsides that need to be dealt with now."

Sakura and Naruto both stopped and looked at their leader.

"First of all, the doctor in charge of you both had needed to pump your stomachs and for lack of a better non medical term, clean out your insides to get rid of whatever Root had been feeding you both. It was laced with a chakra inhibitor and some drugs that we have not fully analyzed yet. You both need to spend a few more days in the hospital to make sure they are out of your systems."

Sarutobi looked at Sakura, "You young lady have a few more days of healing before all of your bruising is gone. I hope you can explain why you are so beaten up?"

Sakura looked nervous and Naruto hung his head in shame. "It was me, Sir," he said in a low voice. "They were making us spar full contact as training. If we held back, they would threaten us with death. My bruises just healed faster than Sakura-chan's did."

Sarutobi nodded and frowned. "I am not pleased that you both had to go through that but I can understand the need for you doing what needed to be done."

Naruto smiled some at that, "Just watch out for those kicks of hers if you ever spar with her, Old Man. She is mean with them."

Sarutobi nodded as Sakura blushed this time.

"Well, now the real issue to be dealt with. During your mission there was a large amount of intentional disinformation passed around regarding both of you. The rumor that you both attacked the pair of instructors was widely spread and many do not believe that it was falsified. Naruto, many added that to the undeserved reputation of yours."

Naruto nodded solemnly.

"Either way, both of you are going to have some trouble with certain sectors of the civilian population for some time after this. The ninja of Konoha were informed that you both were assigned the blame on my direct orders and that neither of you did the actual deed. Word that an enemy force was being built from within Konoha and that the pair of you were being used as bait to locate it was also given out. Sadly, that may lead to few other genin trusting you closely for some time as well. I felt you both should know that right away because it might come up before you leave the hospital"

Sakura sighed at hearing that.

"I'll save the rest of the official business for when you both get out of here. Now, since you both are up, I think you are both due some visitors. A number of people have been hoping to see you both," Sarutobi said.

The aged leader went to the door and opened it before motioning to some people outside.

Sakura's mother came in and hugged the teen. "I was so worried about you sweetheart. When you vanished like that, the Hokage came to see me that you were on a secret mission. The rumors were awful. He told me they were all lies and a cover story but I still worried."

Naruto watched the red haired woman talk nonstop at Sakura after that while he just sat. Then he noticed a familiar face come in.

"Hiya Naruto," Iruka said.

Naruto grinned as Iruka playfully bonked him on the head and the pair caught up on the recent events.

* * *

Two days later, Naruto and Sakura were released from the hospital. The ANBU had returned the clothing recovered from the Root equipment room but had held onto the rest of Naruto's weapons and scrolls. They gave him a receipt to claim it later instead. The normal attitude the ANBU operative would display was different to the pair and seemed to convey a bit of respect. A letter from Hiro was also included inviting them to come by and get some spares if they needed it; at a discount of course.

The pair had received visits from Team 10 but only a few members from their remedial class. They had never been well liked there so it did not bother them. Ayame had come in and brought them ramen once. Sakura felt strangely upset when the waitress had given Naruto a kiss on the cheek.

At their release, they were escorted to the Hokage Tower. Naruto noticed a few openly glaring stares but also a few smiles in his direction. Sakura was not really prepared for the negative reaction but tried to not let it bother her. The training they both had over the previous months let her maintain a calm expression even if she was troubled inside. The days of both being unnoticed in their military clothing were over.

One pair of eyes focused on the passing group. The thought behind them was malevolent but the face never changed.

A short wait found them standing before the Hokage. The old leader stood and walked around his desk. He held out a ninja headband to each of them. The new metal gleamed in the light. The teens both smiled and took them. They quickly placed them on their foreheads and bowed to their Hokage.

Sarutobi pointed them to the couch and motioned for them to sit. He sat in a chair adjacent to it.

"Now, there is a lot to tell both of you and a few decisions to be made. First is what to do with the pair of you. I have already assigned you both to a jonin sensei but I have been asked by a half dozen others to consider them for the position. The ones asking include Cat and the man Hiro from the clothing store. Those two are the biggest surprise since neither of those people has shown any inclination to be a teacher. However, I am going to go with the choice I made seven months ago when I was forming teams."

Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly at that as the Hokage continued.

"I am going to place the pair of you with Hatake Kakashi. I know he failed you Sakura but that team was not the one I had originally intended. Believe it or not, Naruto was supposed to be a part of your team with Uchiha Sasuke. The third member of your team will depend on the outcome of the Chunin Exams in two weeks.

"My main concern right now is where to place you. The Elite program is where I would normally place both of you but your mission has left you both with some negative publicity that many daimyos try to avoid when hiring Elites. Also, by the same token, neither of you would fit well into the standard military program. You both are showing potential well above that skill level."

"We need to find a place for you but the current organizational structure makes it difficult. So I needed to find something outside the current structure. After much thought, I decided to keep doing what I asked of both of you once already. I have decided you will be part of a team that answers directly to the Hokage, much like a junior version of ANBU."

"Officially, you will be counted among the Elites but your mission assignments will be less public and more military or black ops related ones. You will _not_ be getting those ghastly public relations D Rank missions the rest of the Elites get as genin. You would be getting more escort style missions. You will likely be placed into situations that fall into the gray area when a normal Elite team might not be the best choice and an ANBU team would be overkill. A Shadow Elite."

Naruto looked over at Sakura and back to the Hokage. "What about our future, Old Man? People are all talking about the Chunin Exams and how that is the best way for a genin to advance in rank. If we are not a part of that, how will we get promoted?"

Sarutobi smiled at the boy. "Your promotion to chunin would be decided by me alone when you warrant it. You both have the right attitude but lack the practical experience right now. Cat will also be checking up on your training as it progresses. She will also help it along in some areas, especially with Sakura."

Naruto looked happy while Sakura thought for a few seconds before speaking. "Sir, about Kakashi-san, will he be like he was that time as my jonin instructor? I mean he was three hours late that one time I took his test. I don't know if that was part of it but I remember in the Academy, Iruka-sensei was saying that being on time was a part of being a ninja."

Sarutobi chuckled, "He will be on time for anything team related, Sakura. He has had a few problems in his past that he is still dealing with but I have stressed to him that he will not be having his lateness tolerated."

"Will it be just the three of us then?" Naruto asked.

"That depends on the Chunin Exams, Naruto," the Hokage replied. "It depends on how the last potential member does during it."

* * *

**Next Chapter: **Testing and More Testing

* * *

**End Notes:  
**Ah, writers block coupled with lots of extra work and family get togethers mean long delays in postings. My other stories suffered more than this one but I wanted to tie up the story arc on this one first before I get back into the others.

**Review Notes:  
**I hope I did not let too many people down with my mini civil war going so quickly. I didn't want to draw it out any further. Of course ripple effects will happen into the next arc.

The new team will be the Hokage's personal use team in cases when ANBU would be overkill or unnecessary. The Fire Shadow's Elite or Shadow Elite


	10. Testing and More Testing

Insane, Chapter 9 passed 1000 page views less than 8 hours after being posted. I have never had a chapter hit that so quickly. Thank you everyone.

**Testing and More Testing**

Sakura grinned as she lay back on the roof of Naruto's building. Naruto had the entire building to himself and she meant to take full advantage of that. A cooler of sodas lay next to the lounge chair and her bikini was as close to indecent as she dared. The best thing about the location was the height of the building and that it was far from the mountain so peepers would not get much of a view. 'Not that there was much to see.' she idly thought but it was the principle if the thing.

It had been a week since the extermination of Root. Her first attempt to sunbathe at the local pool had been met with mixed reaction. Too many people had been wary or downright hostile to her the few minutes she had been there. The Sandaime's cover story to get Root to pick up Naruto and her had worked a little too well. Lots of civilians and low ranking ninja actually thought she was dangerous.

Sure, she had gone through an intense six month course that brought her to the best physical shape of her life. Her chakra was many times what it had been in the Academy and her control was nearly perfect. Her taijutsu and hand weapon skills were ranked at chunin but her practical experience was nearly zero. Her ninjutsu was only genin level but that was due to the basic nature of the jutsu she had been taught. Drop her anywhere with a chance to survive and she would survive. The Academy had made low level warriors out of the Elite level genin they put out. The Remedial training had polished that and made her into a soldier on top of it. Even the brief Root training had taught her a lot about how much punishment she could handle physically and still keep going.

But right now was plain and simple Sakura time. Months of full cover uniforms and being in classrooms six days a week had taken its toll on her tan. Her lower face and hands were about the only part of her body that wasn't pale right now. The Hokage had given her and Naruto a week off and she intended to make the most of it.

After the initial problem with the pool, she came over here to see what her teammate was doing with his time off. Going into the building through the open front door had been a shock. The only occupant had been Naruto. In fact, only a dozen or so people lived with two blocks of this building. That led to her dragging a lounge chair and a cooler over here to get the sun she wanted. Naruto had not complained too much but his disagreement was obvious. She told him she wouldn't go into his apartment without his permission but she was going to make use of his private roof.

Naruto had tried to balk but she hugged him from behind and whispered in his ear, "Please Na-ru-to Kun" in a small voice. He just said okay in a choked voice and ran into his bedroom. She would have apologized for that but he had been avoiding her for a couple of days now.

Something tickled the edge of her perception and she had rolled off the lounge and gotten into a ready stance in a single motion. A voice called out, "Not bad. I was only there for a few seconds before you noticed me."

Sakura turned her head to see Cat sitting on the edge of the roof. Sakura relaxed some and sit back down on the lounge chair. The ANBU spoke up, "Since Kakashi is busy with something else; the Boss has asked if you and Naruto are willing to do a simple mission for a few hours. You get paid D rank money to go spar with another genin team since it was a request on your day off and all."

The pink haired girl thought about it for a few seconds. "I'm up for it of Naruto is," she replied. "I was getting bored just laying around by myself."

"He hasn't seen you dressed like that, has he? I mean if he sees you dressed like that, he is going to pass out from blood loss. That bikini is smaller than the bra and panties you had on that evening in the classroom."

Sakura giggled softly. In spite of all her training she was still a young teenage girl deep in the middle of puberty. Then she glanced at the sun to guess at the time. "He should be over at the obstacle course about now. He still insists on beating the record time on that thing. His trouble isn't the time; it's the penalty seconds he gets doing it."

Cat nodded. She had seen the boy missing the record almost daily on her observation assignment. His time would come in just under the record only to see a few seconds tacked on for not completing every obstacle cleanly. He was not willing to give up those few seconds of speed needed to do it all correctly and come up with the same total score. One way or the other he would learn eventually or get good enough to not get the penalty. Cat also noted Sakura avoiding the question she asked about Naruto seeing her. Someting had flashed in the girl's eyes that would need discussing later on.

"I'll run home and grab my equipment. Where are we supposed to meet?"

"Head over to the Hokage's office. He should have enough gear since it will be just a sparring session," Cat replied and then she vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Sakura grabbed her clothes and cooler and headed for the stairs.

* * *

Naruto was sweating as he eyed his nemesis. The genin level obstacle course was mocking him once again. The chunin in charge of it was waving Naruto off because a team needed to use the facility. Once again he had failed to break the record. Four penalty seconds had raised his finish time over the record once more. He hung his head as he stomped over to the staging area to reclaim his gear.

"Rough day at the office?" a voice called out.

Naruto looked to see Cat waiting next to his equipment. He wondered what was wrong because the Old Man had given him and Sakura a week off after they took his offer.

"The Boss asked me to deliver a message since Kakashi is out of the village on a mission. Another team has requested you and Sakura for a sparring session. Since it was on a day off he gave you, it would get you D rank pay. Sakura already accepted on the proviso that you are up for it."

Naruto perked up at 'spar'. He agreed with no further prodding.

* * *

Sarutobi looked over the desk at his two newest operatives. Without their head coverings, the pair looked like a normal genin. Both had apparently gone shopping once more since neither wanted to be wearing the old uniforms from their Remedial training classes. The single outfit each had gotten from Hiro's shop had been recovered along with their personal gear from the Root equipment room. Neither however seemed inclined to use it.

Naruto had gone to wearing a charcoal gray version of his old orange jumpsuit. The only noticeable difference was the neckline was turtleneck instead of wide open. He wore weapons stashed in various accessible points and stood relaxed but alert.

Sakura switched to black capri length stretch pants and a slightly loose shirt. An equipment belt was slung around her waist and kunai pouch strapped to her leg. Fingerless gloves with padded knuckles covered her hands. Her high top ninja sandals were actually men's sandals in her size. She seemed to like the more heavy duty construction since a lot of her taijutsu fighting style included a lot of kicks. The ankle supports also had beaded metal plates on sides. Sarutobi could see Cat's hand in her outfit as it as more like one an ANBU female would pick. If the pink haired girl had chest armor and a mask she could pass as an operative to an inexperienced genin or civilian. 'It seems Cat is finding a protégé in young Sakura. It might do the girl some good.'

The aged leader spoke up, "Team Asuma has asked for a sparring match with your team. It seems my son wants his team to enter the Chunin Exams and he wanted to see how his team does facing a completely unknown team. He asked for you two because he has been curious about you since running into you both that day on the street. I also wanted to have some idea of how you would do in a fight."

Naruto grinned, "So it will be a 2 on 3 fight?"

"Yes, Asuma has some idea of what you both can do and judging by Cat's reports and the bruising you put on each other during your Root mission, you both are capable of handling his team easily," Sarutobi said with a small smile.

* * *

The pair walked over to the training areas along the streets. Many active and retired ninja nodded in greeting to the pair while civilians looked nervous. Both were amazed at how fast they had developed a reputation. Naruto was used to the glares but the smiles and respect from other ninja was new. Sakura was saddened by the nervous looks but smiled at everyone who greeted her. Sakura did notice that Naruto had nearly caught up to her in height now. She was stuck at just under 5 feet tall for months now. Naruto seemed to have hit a small growth spurt due to the better diet the Remedial classes had provided during lunch.

At the training fields, they found Team 10 and Asuma waiting for them. Shikamaru was already sizing up the pair. They realized quickly he was the most dangerous one on the other team. They had learned of things to look for and his eyes were too observant.

Ino perked up seeing the pair approach. She had been after Asuma to set this up ever since that night at the restaurant. There was no way that Forehead could have gotten that good since they graduated the Academy. Sakura had been washed back while she had been kept in the Elites and gone on a lot of official missions, even some C rank ones. She watched the pair stroll across the field like they did not have a care in the world. 'Baa, lambs to the slaughter,' she thought.

Choji just munched his chips as he watched Naruto and Sakura approach. His father had talked to him after the whole Root incident in town. He mentioned that Choji should never disrespect either of the pair. They had gone on a high chunin ranked mission with no backup with a strong chance of dying and had gone into it with open eyes. The boy chewed more slowly as he had heard respect in his father's voice when Choji had thought of scoffing at them for failing out of Elite. Someone his father respected was worth paying attention to. He would be careful today.

Shikamaru was sizing up every movement that Sakura and Naruto made as they walked over. The pair seemed too relaxed. They had been invited to a spar but Shikamaru knew it would be more than that. Ino had been badgering Asuma for weeks. They both looked professional and carried themselves more like chunin or jonin than genin. When they were close enough, he could see their eyes. They were dangerous eyes and had been evaluating his team the entire time. Naruto's eyes focused directly on his own and the blonde boy gave a small nod. Naruto knew he was being sized up. Shikamaru suppressed a shudder and turned to Ino and Choji.

"Guys, this is not going to be easy. I think Asuma-sensei was right when he said they could take us out," he said in a low voice to his teammates. Choji just grunted and nodded slightly while Ino looked at him and just said, "As if"

Choji looked at the blonde girl. "Ino, my father told me to give them respect. That should tell you something."

Ino looked shocked. Choza was a classic Akimichi in that he respected strength of body and character. For a pair of genin to have that from him was something she did not expect. She just nodded slowly after Choji spoke and decided to not say anything after that. She remembered some of the things that Asuma had said that night about the Legions and how Sakura had faced being sent to that without flinching. Ino knew she would have been whining like a three year old if she had to face that.

Asuma greeted the incoming pair and the genin all greeted each other. Ino just said "Sakura" in a normal tone but Sakura picked up on that Ino was intimidated by the fact the blonde did not insult the pink haired girl.

Sakura bowed and spoke to Asuma. "Hokage-sama said you requested a spar with our team. We are still a person short but we will give it our best effort. Are there any specific rules you require?"

Asuma smiled at the politeness. "Just no one try to cripple the other side."

Naruto looked at Choji then back to Asuma, "Full contact?"

Asuma chuckled, "No lasting wounds. Bruising is fine."

Naruto nodded.

Ino was again shocked and barely kept her mouth from falling open. How were Naruto and Sakura being so cool about this? They were bantering with _Sensei_ like they were discussing groceries. He was not even trying to cow them like he did to their team when giving instructions. He was speaking to them like professionals.

Shikamaru pulled the team back from their teacher and opponents. "We need some space before this thing starts," he hissed. He watched Naruto and Sakura turn to be able to see each other out of the corner of their eyes and both raised a hand to hide their mouths from view.

Choji glanced to Shikamaru as they backed away dragging Ino. "What is the plan?" he asked.

Shikamaru needed more information to come up with something. He needed to see them fighting some to find weaknesses. "Choji, you engage in hand to hand. You'll have to absorb some damage to give me an idea of how to defeat them. Sorry to use you like that but these two are total strangers to us now. Ino, you engage from a distance with throwing weapons. I'll see if I can catch them by surprise with my shadows."

Choji just nodded. He knew that was a large part of his job on this team. They were primarily an intelligence and support team and not meant to engage in heavy combat. But the Akimichi jutsu were well suited to heavy combat and when used in defensive situations were very difficult to beat. Their size allowed them to take a few hits that would disable most ninja.

Asuma leaned back on a tree and watched for a minute before he would call start. He had a good idea of the training Naruto and Sakura had gone through. He had a few friends years ago go through Remedial and later worked their way onto ANBU. They were all dead now. The few times he had thought he was all that and sparred with them, they had handed him his butt. They had convinced him to start using his trench knives as more than a simple tool. His new seriousness in the military basics had led to his being invited into the Twelve Ninja Guardians at the same time ANBU had invited him to join. He took the position with the Guardians but also accepted the Bear mask that ANBU offered and still kept it in reserve to use it for the Hokage when needed.

He wanted his team to learn that lesson before their first Chunin Exam. They had potential to be great but they still thought they were invincible. He needed to break them of that idea and using someone they saw as a peer would be the best way to achieve that end. The fact that Ino looked down on Sakura right now was more of a blessing because the girl needed a wake up more than Choji or Shikamaru.

Asuma called out, "Fight until one side is disabled. If I call someone out, you are out. Round 1, begin."

Naruto ran directly at the charging Choji while Sakura shadowed her teammate. Choji prepared for a collision but was surprised when Naruto leapt to the side and he practically walked into a kick in the face from Sakura. The hefty boy fell over as Sakura pushed off him to race at Shikamaru.

The pink haired girl threw a kunai with a smoking tag at the ground next to the lazy genius. Shikamaru leapt off to one side away from the blade. He realized his mistake in midair as Naruto tackled him as he landed. The blonde's shoulder drove him into the ground and knocked the wind out of him.

Sakura dodged a hail of shuriken from Ino as the blonde kept backing away from her one time friend. 'The fight was not supposed to be like this,' Ino thought. 'We were supposed to win. I made Elite not her!'

Sakura closed when Ino noticed Naruto moving to one side of the blonde and stopped looking at Sakura. A fast punch to the gut stole Ino's breath and the metallic sound of a kunai being drawn was followed by the cold touch of it on her neck.

Asuma breathed a light whistle. It had taken Naruto and Sakura less than 30 seconds to dismantle his team. All three would have been dead if it had been a real life and death battle.

The sound of a firecracker went off as the tag on the kunai sounded. Sakura walked over to pick it up from the ground then held out a hand to Shikamaru. The lazy ninja took it and was helped up. Naruto had already gone to Choji and was checking on the large boy's bloody nose. Ino just remained on her knees with her head in the same position it had been when Sakura had laid the kunai on her neck. Everyone else came up to her while she remained still.

Sakura knelt next to the blonde and gently spoke to her, "Ino, you're all right."

Ino looked at Sakura with tears in her eyes. "No, I'm not. I thought we were so great. Then you come in and beat us like we just started the Academy. How?"

Sakura smiled gently at her old friend. "A lot of sweat, a lot of bruises and a lot of times being in that very position you are in right now. But the best thing about training is you can die as many times as it takes to learn how not to."

Sakura stood and held out her hand. Ino reached out and took it and pulled Sakura into a hug when she had stood. "I missed you, Forehead."

"Same here, Piggy," Sakura replied.

Asuma walked up to the one time classmates, "Now Team 10, what did you do wrong in that one?"

* * *

That night Sarutobi was strolling home and saw Asuma waiting outside the clan compound.

"How did it go today, Asuma?" the Hokage asked.

Asuma chuckled, "About how I expected it to go. My team got beat four out of five spars. The fifth was a draw but I think your team threw that one. You know something; it might be a good idea to run future Academy classes through that Remedial style training before making them genin."

"Convince the clans and I'll authorize it. They like the current system. Only the fact that I insist on at least half the Academy be made of non clan students is the only reason the Elite is not more unbalanced than it is now. So how did my team do?" Sarutobi asked.

"They were good, Pop. They were confident. They never fell for the same trick twice and most importantly; they were humble about it when they won. I hate to admit it but my team had that 'I am part of a clan so I am better than you' attitude. Naruto and Sakura just beat that out of them today. It was exactly what I wanted," Asuma finished with a laugh.

"I seem to recall a certain son of a Hokage that had that same attitude once," Sarutobi smirked.

Asuma nodded. "And I had it beaten out of me the exact same way. I really should thank the Hokage for setting me up for that beating but somehow I think he knows already."

Sarutobi nodded sagely and gestured Asuma inside, "You have got to hear what your nephew tried to pull today."

* * *

Genin from many villages filed into the Academy room 301. Team 10 ran into Team 8 and they stood together against the pressure of all the other genin in the room. The tense atmosphere in the room was made worse when the proctor, Morino Ibiki arrived with a dozen chunin in a burst of chakra smoke.

The genin were sent racing to their seats and the testing began. Within minutes, cheaters were being called out and dismissed from the test with their teams.

"Number 42, you fail!" came a cry. "Number 101 and 17 go with him." This brought out a loud roar of anger from Uchiha Sasuke as he was thrown out along with his cheating teammate.

* * *

Naruto watched as Mitarishi Anko led 48 genin towards the Forest of Death. The boy was doing sit ups while he hung under a branch by his feet holding on with chakra. He saw Team 10 and Team 8 in the group and whispered, "Good Luck guys."

* * *

Naruto met Sakura and Kakashi for a brief mission to the border to pick up traffic reports. They would travel one day to the border, two days along it to visit various stations and sight verify that each team was who they were supposed to be and one day to return to Konoha. Kakashi viewed it as busy work so that the Hokage could deal with the second phase of the Chunin Exams but for Naruto and Sakura it was an adventure.

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei! This is our first time past the walls. It's exciting!" Naruto cried out.

Sakura chuckled at her friend's antics but she was excited as well. Technically the mission was C ranked because it left the village. She didn't care about that because it was another actual mission. It got them away from the stares and glares the civilians kept giving her.

At least her mother wasn't suffering from Sakura's new found reputation. Her mom had lost her job when the plan to infiltrate Root had begun. However, after the destruction of it, a different employer called her mom in for a better job. Sakura knew it had something to do with Hiro and some of the mysterious blue masked ninja people had mentioned but she couldn't prove it. She did not push the issue either way.

The pink haired girl had to admit that long distance tree running was an exciting thing at first but once you got used to it, it got dull quickly.

Kakashi was pleased with the time they made on the journey out to the border. He was not sure what to expect from this better trained pair. He realized that Sakura was more than he had seen for the few hours he had tested Team 7 six months earlier. Once she had been forced to shed her fan girl attitude, she turned out to be a much stronger individual. He felt shamed that he had not seen that before failing the team.

On the other hand, Naruto was still an enigma to the jonin. Kakashi knew who the boy was and had helped keep him safe years ago. He knew the boy had a lot of issues still but the last six months had changed the blonde as well. He was calmer and much more focused. The focus brought his intelligence out more as he had been taught to take the time to think before acting. The boy was still loud and brash at times but Kakashi realized that was for emotional self protection.

Once outside the village and with people he knew he could trust, the loud boy faded and the quiet one emerged. He was not moody or sullen, just quiet. It was as if the boy knew he did not need to prove anything to either Sakura or Kakashi. Sakura had earned that trust recently and Kakashi had it for years.

One other thing that worried him was how close the pair seemed. There was something underneath going on with them he had no part of. He recognized it as something he felt with a few of his old ANBU teammates who had survived a terrible battle alongside him. Something developed down in Root with them but neither one was talking about it, something more than friendship but less than romance.

Kakashi pulled himself out of his thought just in time to avoid leaping into a tree trunk. He chuckled at himself and focused back on the mission.

The rest of the mission went as planned. They got to see the border stations and get a look at some other ninja who had not heard of the Root incident yet. The border guards were military ninja and they recognized both Naruto and Sakura as one of their own. The fact that they were working under one of the most famous Elites boosted how many of them felt about their own potential for the future.

* * *

After four days, the tired and dirty trio returned to Konoha and reported in to the Hokage.

The mission report was easy enough. They simply turned over the traffic reports and informed the Hokage that all the people who should have been at the locations were there. The Hokage was looking haggard as he dismissed them so they just left without asking how the second test of the Chunin Exams went.

Sakura hurried over to Ino's house to get the latest word on that. She even invited Naruto to come along. But when they arrived at the flower shop, they found it closed. An elderly neighbor told them that Ino was in the hospital. The pair took to the roofs of Konoha and ran all the way there.

The waiting room in the hospital was packed with people. It seems this Chunin Exam had been a bloody one. Sakura spotted the blonde hair of Ino's mom and walked over to her. The flower shop owner saw the pink hair of Sakura and pulled her daughter's once again friend into a hug. Sakura was confused but hugged back.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked. "I just got back from an out of town mission and went to the shop but it was closed."

Ino's mom wiped her eyes and looked Sakura in the eye. "Ino got hurt during the tests. Shikamaru and Choji told me most of it but I am sure they left some things out. Her team made it past the test and taken to an arena because Choji was saying something about too many people finished. She had to fight in a solo match against a boy from the Sand village. He could manipulate sand and wrapped her in it. Ino tried to use a family mind jutsu on him instead of surrendering. Shikamaru said she just screamed and has not woken up since. She is catatonic right now. Inoichi and a few cousins are trying to help her but they haven't been able to do much."

Sakura was shocked. Naruto looked at all the people in the waiting area. Many different clans were represented. A Nara was sitting staring at the ceiling. A Hyuuga sat stoically apart from the rest. An Inuzuka sat with a trio of dogs. An Aburame stood off in the corner. It did not take a genius to know something bad had happened. Naruto noticed Choji coming out of the bathroom with a few bandages on. He walked over to Choji.

"Hey, Choji. I just got back from a mission. What happened?"

Choji looked at Naruto for a moment before nodding. It was as if he had to think about what Naruto had said before he could respond.

"It was horrible, Naruto. Fifteen people, five teams made it through the second stage of the exam. The Hokage gave a little talk and we ended up having to fight an elimination round before we could move into the finals. Ino got matched up against a redhead from Suna. He was going to crush her with sand. He kept asking her if she could prove his existence. She used her mind jutsu on him even while Shikamaru was telling her to give up. I saw her smirk appear on the boy's face for a moment before both of them screamed. The boy collapsed and Ino was just … she ended up on the ground just staring out straight and twitching. Both got disqualified. Neither one has woken up yet. The Yamanaka's will not even try to work on the Suna boy after trying to get into Ino's mind. One muttered Shukaku and almost spat at the boy after looking into Ino's head."

Naruto was saddened. He never knew Ino that well but she had never been mean to him. Well, outside of being a Sasuke fan girl kind of mean. He looked around the room once more. "Choji, that explains what your team's family is doing here. Why are Team 8's clans here?"

Choji looked down at his feet. "They never finished the second part of the exam. They got ambushed by a foreign heavy combat team who were wearing stolen Leaf headbands. The foreigners used lightning jutsu so people think they might have been from Cloud but no one can prove that. Kiba said they zapped Shino with a lightning strike that fried most of his destruction bugs and nearly killed him. They jumped Kiba next and he ended up taking a hit in place of Akamaru. The attack would have killed the pup but it broke both of Kiba's arms instead. Then the team went after Hinata."

Choji stopped and shuddered. "Kiba said something happened to Hinata. You know how she has always been this shy quiet girl, right? Well, Kiba got a look at her face as _she_ attacked _them_. He said it was like she was a completely different person. Her hands were literally glowing with chakra as she tore that team to pieces. I mean parts were scattered as far as twenty yards away. But the last one died after he managed to impale her on his sword. All three are in intensive care right now but the medics say all should recover."

Naruto was shocked. The idea that gentle Hinata could lose control like that was easy for him to understand. She had so few people as kind to her as her teammates that she would overcome her shyness to save them. "So if they are going to recover, why the vigil and evil looks between the members of their clans?"

Choji looked down then back into Naruto's eyes. "The Hyuuga elders were furious at the fact Hinata got hurt like she did even though it was received protecting her team instead of ensuring her own safety. One said outright she makes the clan look weak. They were demanding Hiashi put Hinata into the branch family and brand her with their seal. Hiashi has been reluctant to do that to either of his daughters. The Inuzuka and Aburame both claimed blood debt on Hinata and said that it the Hyuuga even attempt it, they will not leave a single other main branch Hyuuga alive. Both clans have formally requested permission to adopt Hinata away from the Hyuuga to keep that damned slavery seal off her forehead."

Naruto was quiet about that. He knew nothing about the Hyuuga other than Hinata was supposed to be the heir. He would have to find out more and soon. No wonder the Old Man looked so worn out. "How are you doing Choji?" he asked.

Choji looked down at his bandages. "A few bumps and bruises. I made it into the finals next month. I had to fight a girl from Suna who used a giant fan and a lot of wind techniques. She was really good but she was distracted by that red haired boy not waking up. I wouldn't have won otherwise even though I was not doing so well because of Ino," he said.

"Wow Choji, good for you. Who else made it?" Naruto asked.

"Besides me; Shikamaru, Hinata's cousin Neji and the guy's whole team, a guy from Suna who uses puppets and two guys from the new Sound village. They cut off the preliminaries when only 8 people were left. The girl on Neji's team, Tenten and one of the Sound guys had their fight postponed so they start things off in the big tournament. The only person not to fight was the crazy spandex kid with the eyebrows you see running around town; Lee. Turns out he is on the team with that girl Tenten and Neji."

Naruto nodded and the silence after Choji finished just went on. Naruto then noticed something. "Um Choji, I gotta go take care of a few things. I just got back from a mission and I am a little ripe. I'll stop back in later on to see how things are going."

Choji nodded. He had not wanted to tell Naruto he reeked but was glad the blonde was developing social skills and noticed it himself. "Thanks, Naruto. Take care."

The blonde headed out to go get cleaned up and eat.

* * *

The following morning, Naruto and Sakura stood next to Kakashi in front of the Hokage.

"I have been considering who would make a good fit as a third person on your team. There are not many at the moment. For now, I want to evaluate Uchiha Sasuke as possibly being the last member of your team. He requested being moved and everyone else on his current team endorsed it. He has been disruptive and is not a team player but he is a highly skilled genin. Kakashi, I know you failed the genin on Team 7 six months ago but I want to see how the originally planned Team 7 works out."

Kakashi nodded but all three people facing the Hokage had a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Next Chapter: Rage of the Uchiha

* * *

**End Notes**:  
For the new outfits, make Naruto's classic orange outfit a dark gray and used the Shippuden neckline on it. Sakura is basically in just below the knee black spandex pants with very little equipment on her legs. She has the standard kunai and shuriken pouches but more of her stuff is in the equipment belt and chest area pouches. This frees her legs since most of her taijutsu attacks are kick based. She is also wearing the ninja equivalent of hobnailed boots for increased impact.

I cut this chapter off sooner than I had originally planned because the build up to the possible reunification of the planned Team 7. I try for 5,000 word chapter with some overrun. It took much longer than my outline called for to get to the point I stopped at. I wanted to show the underlying tension in Konoha around Naruto and Sakura as well as show off a few of their skills. They are by no means 'uber' but they are much better than the average genin. If they fought Kakashi full out serious, they might surprise him for a few seconds but would still lose. In skill, I would place them at low chunin in hand to hand since that is the main area of their military training. Together they would be able to take down a solo chunin easily or have a reasonable chance of defeating a rookie chunin in a one on one situation. They still lack the flashy or high powered jutsu we normally see in the manga with having learned smaller more useful ones.

For anyone wanting to keep track, the five teams that made it through the second part of the Chunin Exam were, Sand Siblings, Team 10, Team Guy, the team from Sound and a military ninja squad from Konoha. Sadly the obscure team got some kudos for getting there but they got beat down by Neji, Kankuro and Dosu.

**Review Notes**:  
Gashi (Sai) will not be back any time soon. He has a long visit with the guys in the white coats and some I love me time before they can get him working enough mentally to not be a Root minion.

Once the Team 7 in this story had been failed, I did say that Sasuke had been used as a replacement in an existing team but never said which one. There had also been that snipe hunt the troublesome Uchiha got sent on. People against his joining the team should know he will not be there for long. I have other plans for him.

A few members of Root survived and escaped capture. Some were simply not there to be captured. However, the leader, the support network and most of the internal spies were taken out. Sarutobi is not starting a witch hunt for the remaining few but going to get what he can out of the prisoners and help the ones who were not fully brainwashed. Some survivors might not even know the identities of other survivors. Like the French resistance in WW2 or more modern terrorists, the Root was drawn from locals so they can blend back in unnoticed.

Danzo captured was indeed the real one. Sarutobi did not kill him outright because he needs information out of the warhawk. It would have been easier to do so but only Danzo knows all the shadows Root was working in. The chance to learn what he was up to is for the moment all his life is worth.

Posted 05/29/09


	11. Rage of the Uchiha

Chapter 10 hit 1000 even faster than Chapter 9, less than 6 hours this time. I don't expect this one to match a Friday afternoon posting like the previous two chapters but I have been on a roll with this while Will Born in Fire hits a major writer's block. Its loss is this story's gain

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* * *

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Rage of the Uchiha

Naruto was very quiet once the team left the Hokage's office. His mind went back to the last time he had seen Sasuke; the day he had failed the genin exam. Sasuke had just sneered at him and walked past muttering, "Loser" He had tried to make himself the rival of Sasuke back then but no matter what he did, the Uchiha had a counter for it. It never looked like Sasuke was even trying very hard either. He would leave Naruto lying in the dirt and go back to his trying to do some fancy move.

Sakura noticed Naruto's funk right away and knew why. She had been such a shallow girl back then. No matter what happened she would take Sasuke's side and degrade Naruto after a failure. With how she taunted the blonde, she was surprised he still had always tried to impress her and treat her well.

Sakura quietly spoke up when the team got to a training field. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I was such a bitch to you back in the Academy. You didn't deserve anything I said to you then."

Naruto smiled weakly to his friend. "Don't worry about it, Sakura-chan. I forgave all of that a long time ago. You're not the same immature person you were then. We both learned from our mistakes and are better than we were then."

"Then how about tomorrow we show that primadonna just how much better we are when we pull that stick out of his butt and beat him with it." Sakura said with an evil grin.

Naruto was shocked to hear Sakura talk like that but his smile was one of the most honest and grateful Sakura had ever seen on his face.

Kakashi looked at his team, "Why don't we skip practice today? Be here in the morning at 7:30. The Hokage told Sasuke to be there at 8:00 for his tryout."

Sakura and Naruto both nodded. He turned to leave when Sakura called after him, "Naruto? Do you want to grab something to eat and discuss what we are going to do tomorrow?"

"Sure," Naruto said with a grin.

* * *

A few minutes before 8:00 the next morning, Uchiha Sasuke was grumbling as he entered the training field. 'I hope this team is not as much of a pack of losers as the last team,' he thought as he looked around. 'No one here. Someone should at least be waiting for me to arrive.'

In the trees that bordered the training field, five eyes watched him closely. The three people using those eyes were not even well hidden but they were still unnoticed. "His awareness is terrible," Sakura commented. "Even Naruto could have spotted us by now."

Naruto looked over at her and she smiled and stuck her tongue out at him. Naruto smiled back. He knew she was kidding and her comment held no malice.

Kakashi spoke up, "Let's get this test going, shall we?"

He pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag attached and hurled it at the unsuspecting Uchiha.

Sasuke noticed some movement in the trees and focused on a kunai speeding at him. He jumped off to one side and looked back to see the tag explode.

He was shoved from behind. "Remedial Lesson #1. Don't watch a tag explode. Look for the person who threw it," a muffled girl's voice said as he whirled around and drew a kunai. He only saw a glimpse of a leg as the person moved around behind him again. On the ground was another explosive note. He jumped backwards only to take a kick to the spine as he landed. The blow made him drop his kunai.

"Remedial Lesson #2. Never move without looking if you don't know what is there when you are going to land," a boy's voice spoke.

Sasuke was getting angry and spun to see a glimpse of blonde hair vanish into the trees.

He growled at being attacked like this and his hands began flashing through signs and ended with the Tiger. "Katon: Gou … argh!!!" Pain lashed through his thigh as something hard rammed into it which gave him a charley horse and collapsed his leg. "Remedial Lesson #3. Never stand still in the middle of a battle and cast an obvious jutsu."

Sasuke rolled back to his feet to see the pink haired Sakura standing there with her arms crossed and his dropped kunai in her hand. Her smirk was an obvious copy of his from the Academy. He was about to lunge forward when a kunai pressed against his neck. A voice behind him said in his ear, "Remedial Lesson #4. When opponents are equal, proper teamwork will always trump individual effort. You're dead."

"That's enough Naruto. I think the point was made," Kakashi said. The jonin noticed the sneer on Sasuke's face. "At least I hope the point was made."

Naruto stepped back out of arm's reach from Sasuke and put his kunai away. The blonde then circled around to Kakashi. Sakura moved from the other side. The entire time they moved they never took their eyes off Sasuke or moved close enough for a quick attack from him.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the trio before him. "You mean I am going to have two Academy failures and the jonin who failed my first team as my new team?"

Kakashi smiled at the arrogant boy, "Actually, we are going to be testing you to see if you're good enough to be joining THEIR team."

Sasuke sneered. "I doubt these losers could keep up with me."

Naruto chuckled, "Why would we want to go backwards? You're the one who needs to catch up to us if you want to be on our team, Sasuke."

"Anytime, anywhere, Naruto. The only way you have a chance against me is a sneak attack like you just made," Sasuke growled.

Kakashi held up his hand. "No fighting between you without my permission. There will always be a third person to judge or be able to get help. Is that understood, Sasuke?"

Sasuke just crossed his arms and grunted, "Hn"

Kakashi stepped closer to Sasuke, "I asked, Is. That. Understood. Sasuke?"

Sasuke glared. "Yes," he finally said after some thirty seconds passed.

Kakashi nodded, "Since you are being evaluated, we can move right into the daily exercises."

Sakura and Naruto nodded and immediately took off jogging at a fast pace. Sasuke continued to stand there with his arms crossed. Kakashi looked at the dark haired boy, "Waiting for a personal invitation?"

The Uchiha glare had no effect on Kakashi so Sasuke finally started moving after the other two.

Naruto and Sakura led the jog on a winding course toward the training center they were very familiar with. Sasuke followed along and got slightly winded at the pace the pair set. Kakashi followed along behind Sasuke humming a happy tune. Once they reached the obstacle course, the pair stopped and waited for Sasuke and Kakashi.

There was a new class of Remedial trainees at the course. Naruto and Sakura both bowed respectfully to the healed Ito. Ito nodded his head in reply and walked over. "Come to keep in shape?"

Naruto smiled, "I come almost every day. I want the course record."

Sakura spoke up next, "We are evaluating a possible new teammate. We need to know what he can do so we know how much training he needs."

Sasuke came up puffing. Kakashi had stopped him and told him he couldn't use chakra to bolster his metabolism while running. Naruto and Sakura weren't. If he was using chakra while running, it was considered cheating during exercise. Ito looked over at Sasuke and commented, "Wasn't he rookie of the year for your class?"

Naruto gave a small nod.

"Wow, low standards up there in Elite for clan folk," Ito said. He looked back at his class who were just watching this. "Pushups!" he yelled at them. The entire class got down and began doing the pushups and counting off in synch.

Sasuke had caught his breath by now and grumbled, "What are we doing down here in the military ninja section?"

Sakura muttered, "How did I ever like this fool?" She turned to face Sasuke. "This is the next part of your evaluation. All military ninja have to complete this obstacle course to pass. Since you are so much 'better' than us, how about you do it to prove it?"

Ito understood what Naruto and Sakura were doing now. "Class, that's enough pushups. I want all of you to stand and observe how Uchiha Sasuke completes the advanced obstacle course."

Sasuke flushed red and looked over the course. He had no clue how to do this thing. They were doing this to intentionally humiliate him.

Sakura walked past Sasuke, "I'll go first and you can see how it's done." She started walking up the 20 ft. vertical wall to ring a bell then backed down at the same speed. Next, she walked across the water pool and lay on the platform on the far side before crawling across the water in a different direction under some bars. She came to a rope and took hold of it with her hands and lifted her legs out straight in front of her body. Then she climbed the rope like that using only her arms. Sakura rang a bell at the top of the rope before dropping to another platform. She descended down a series of two inch wide vertical poles by stepping on the top of each one. The descent could be jarring as each pole was three feet away and three feet lower than the previous one. Once on the ground, Sakura needed to jump and grasp a horizontal bar, do a single chin up and then drop until she had straight arms. Once there she needed to pull herself back up and hook a leg over the bar and get on top of it to stand and jump to another horizontal bar higher up and repeat the process four times up to the top of a tower. A rope descent over the water pool with her hands pulling and her ankles linked over the rope got her back to the ground. At the final obstacle she had to lift her feet and hang from a platform via chakra in her feet and do twenty vertical sit ups counting off each one. After finishing the final sit up she dropped to the ground and sprinted for a bell to signal completion.

Sasuke just stared like an idiot. How the hell did that FANGIRL manage to do all of that? She had not just walked across water; she had _crawled_ across water and not gotten wet.

Sakura returned and got a high five from Naruto. Her time was a good fifteen seconds below the posted maximum allowed time and she had not even been pushing herself. "Nice time. Not close to my best but you never push to beat that," Naruto said with a smile. Sakura blushed lightly at the praise.

"Your turn, Sasuke," Sakura said smiling at the 'genius'.

Sasuke got an angry look on his face. "You're trying to embarrass me, aren't you?" he hissed.

Ito sent the class off to do laps so they would not hear what was going to come. He nodded to Kakashi and took off after his charges.

"No, they aren't," Kakashi said once the Remedial class had left. "They are showing you how much you need to do to catch up to them. Things you should have learned over the past six months under you jonin sensei but that you refused to do. You just were focusing on high ranked jutsu and fancy kunai tricks. I looked over his evaluation on your skills. You are behind even the most basic military side graduate right now. Your chakra levels have barely changed since the Academy. Your control is a bit better and that allows for your fire jutsu strength to increase and make you think you are getting stronger. But since you refuse to do the physical things that increase chakra, you are falling further and further behind your peers."

"But I need strong jutsu to beat my brother!" Sasuke yelled. "I need to activate my Sharingan and defeat him to avenge my family!"

"So, you want to be strong enough to beat an ANBU level ninja who killed an entire clan of Uchiha but you don't want to work hard at making yourself better? That is never going to happen, Sasuke. Eyes are only as good as the body they are a part of," Kakashi continued. "Your arrogance and superiority complex hold you back. You focus everything you have and everything you are on the pipe dream of killing your brother. The fact that you refuse to see is that you are not even on the same level he was at the age you are now. Now he is another five years older and another five years better and you still haven't matched his age 10 level. If you trained properly you might have. If you asked for help, you might have. Making your Fireball jutsu stronger will not defeat Itachi. Making fancy knife throwing tricks will not defeat Itachi. Blaming others or saying they are holding you back are excuses you're making, Sasuke. The only person holding back Uchiha Sasuke is Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke was red faced and growling at Kakashi now. The man _had_ to be lying. "SHUT UP!!" he yelled. "You're trying to confuse me. You're just trying to hold me back like everyone else is."

"When I failed Team 7, I recommended that you get treatment for mental issues, Sasuke. Itachi did something to your head when he left. You were in a coma for a week after he killed your entire clan. Then you never took up a single offer for help. You never said what he did to you."

Sasuke was holding his head now as the words of Itachi were beginning to sound in his mind.

"_You are not even worth killing. Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life. And one day, when you have the same eyes as I do, come before me._"

"He said I need to have the same eyes he did, the highest level of Sharingan. When I had it I would be able to face him," Sasuke finally admitted. "Now you know why I need to get stronger. That is why I need strong jutsu and training!"

Naruto was barely keeping himself from jumping this supposed genius in front of him. "Strong jutsu is useless unless you have the basic skills to back them up," he said instead.

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto still red faced from yelling at Kakashi. He didn't have to take anything from the dead last. "Then fight me and I'll prove I have the skills to back it up!"

"Not yet," Naruto replied. "With Kakashi-sensei's permission, I want to ask you five questions that you have to answer truthfully and completely before I'll fight you."

Kakashi thought for a moment before nodding his agreement.

"Sakura saw the kunai throwing trick Kakashi-sensei mentioned. Why was he learning it and how long have you been trying to duplicate it?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke grumbled, "I don't know why he was learning it I figured it was a special attack. I just saw him doing it and I wanted to learn it to show I could be better than him. He was doing it before he killed the clan so close to five years now."

Kakashi's visible eyebrow went up. "Sasuke, didn't you realize that kunai trick had only 1 purpose? Itachi was assigned to obtain a document and the only way to disarm the traps without the master key was to stop them all at once. He took two months learning that one time use trick and eventually completed his mission."

Sasuke was in shock that his prized 'attack' had been nothing more than a way to disarm a trap. All of his training at his brother's 'special attack' was a meaningless waste of five years of effort. He glowered and looked at Naruto, "Four more questions."

"Do you know any non Academy jutsu not related to fire and if so, why not?"

"No, I don't. My team leader wouldn't show me any good ones."

Naruto was about to speak but Sakura motioned him to silence. "'Good' as in what level of jutsu was he showing you?"

Sasuke glared at Sakura but decided to answer anyhow, "Worthless D and E level jutsu. He said they were standard knowledge for military ninja. They were not worth my time."

Sakura shook her head, "I'll remember that if we are ever on a mission and your canteen runs dry or you have to ask for help to conceal a campsite."

Naruto spoke up again, "What other taijutsu styles have you tried to learn?

Sasuke sneered. "There is no style better than the Uchiha style. Once I unlock my Sharingan I will have it mastered," he said smugly.

"I think the Hyuuga would disagree but you both are entitled to your fantasies. Next question. Do you honestly believe you can defeat your brother once your eyes are developed when you cannot even reach the same rank he did?

Sasuke crossed his arms and glowered at Naruto again. "Once I have my eyes unlocked, nothing will be able to stop me. I just need people to stop holding me back."

Kakashi shook his head while Sakura muttered, "Arrogant much?"

"One more question, Naruto. Then I show you how far below me you still are," Sasuke said.

Naruto put on an exaggerated thinking pose for several seconds before snapping his fingers. "Got it. First we'll go out onto the sparring ground before I ask since you are likely going to attack once you answer."

The blonde led the way to the sparring fields nearby with Sasuke following closely behind. Kakashi and Sakura followed a little further back. Once Naruto had moved to the center of the area he smiled at Sasuke.

"Okay, final question. Are you aware that your hairstyle looks like a cockatiel's butt?" the blonde said with a grin.

Sasuke's face turned white before quickly turning red then purple as his rage grew. Kakashi took a couple of steps back from the teenage boys and motioned at Sakura to do the same.

Sasuke rushed at Naruto with a kunai drawn intent on killing the blonde for his disrespect. The blonde just stood with that stupid grin on his face even when the blade cut deep into his stomach. Sasuke frowned at how easy it was until Naruto turned into a leafy branch. Another kunai touched his shoulder. "Replacement technique. You're dead again Sasuke," said Naruto.

Sasuke swung his arm around and hit Naruto in the chest with his fist. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's wrist and held it as he slammed the metal plate on the back of his hand into Sasuke's elbow. The Uchiha grunted in pain as he lost feeling in his hand for a few seconds. His use of jutsu was gone for several minutes since his fingers on that hand had clenched into a fist.

The blonde punched Sasuke hard in the stomach. The dark haired Uchiha gasped until a fist knocked his head back with a slight bit of blood mixed into the flying spit. Sasuke swung back drunkenly but got a punch in the lower back as a counter. Sasuke grabbed onto Naruto's gray jacket to try to slow down the fight.

Naruto leapt back from Sasuke only for a moment before charging in again. Sasuke tried defending against Naruto but the blonde never gave the dark haired boy a chance to rest. Naruto made random blows and kicks in no particular style. Sasuke gave a better defense but his moves seemed delayed as if he were waiting for a clue to Naruto's attacks. The self taught Uchiha clan taijutsu was not working well for Sasuke without an active Sharingan to let him know where the blows were coming from.

"You fight the same way you did in the Academy, Sasuke. The only problem for you here is I'm not," Naruto commented as he attacked. "You're style needs something you do not have. If you are up against a style you don't know you will lose trying to use just your clan's style. Then you knew where and when an attack would come from since everyone has a single style to use. Different clan styles or Academy style didn't matter because you had seen them and knew how to counter them from practice."

Sasuke didn't respond but jumped away to flash his hands through hand signs ending with a Tiger, "Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu (Grand Fireball)," he yelled. The fireball spread out over a good portion of the field in front of Sasuke. He blew for several more seconds before letting it fade. He stood looking around and not seeing anyone before hanging his head while panting.

A kunai tapped on his shoulder twice this time. "You really should not do that in a fight, Sasuke. People might think you were actually winning. Oh, and you're dead again," Naruto said.

"How did you avoid that?" Sasuke demanded as he kept panting.

"It was quite easy," Naruto said while shrugging his shoulders. "You telegraphed your move, shouted it at the top of your lungs and spent so much time posing afterward that you never noticed I had gotten around the fireball and behind you. While you were busy just working on your jutsu to make it a little bigger, I was working my butt off to get better. Everyday I was run into the ground and made to build up myself physically. Then I was forced to do chakra control exercises everyday. I grew to hate that obstacle course. I learned how to harness my energy which kept growing the stronger I got physically. I still suck at chakra control believe it or not."

Sasuke was tired and he needed a few more minutes to regain his chakra enough to fight some more so he played for time. "How can you suck at it? I'm exhausted and you're not even winded after all we have done."

Well, when it comes to chakra, if they gave leadership to whoever has the most you are looking at the person who would be leader. I have more of it than maybe 4 people in the history of the village. My control of it is one of the worst in history as well."

"How did you get so much chakra?" Sasuke demanded to know.

Naruto frown was the first the Uchiha had ever seen on the blonde. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you. I think its better that you don't know right now. This fight is over."

Naruto turned to leave when Sasuke yelled at him, "Don't you turn your back on me, Loser! I'm not done with you yet!"

Naruto glared back. "You lost the moment you came out here. You think that because you have a family name and a potential doujutsu that you're special? I looked up Uchiha stats in the open records, Sasuke. As Uchiha go, you're average and nothing special. Your brother was the prodigy, not you. You go on and on about your eyes this and your eyes that and taking everything that the village gives you like you deserve it because people treat you special."

The blonde pointed and a liquid sprayed into Sasuke's open eyes. The dark haired boy grabbed his face as he shouted in panic as they burned slightly. "That's how an enemy would react to your precious eyes, Sasuke. Just how special would you be without your eyes, Sasuke? That was just lemon juice but an enemy would be using acid. Maybe its time you _opened_ your eyes instead of just using them as a crutch."

Naruto turned and began to walk away when Sasuke opened his eyes wide and went through his hand seals for his great fireball once more but was felled by a blow to the back of the head. Sasuke rolled to see Sakura standing there and lowering her foot.

"In spite of everything Sasuke, we are still willing to give you a chance. But you need to work for it. We can do great things as a team but only if we are all working together. Naruto's point however childish is that you need to stop acting like you are so special and better than everyone. Let go of your anger. Back at the introductions for Team 7, you said that you wanted to restart your clan and kill a certain man. There is no way you can accomplish either one on your own. You'll have to accept help sometime, Sasuke."

Sakura held out her hand to her former crush. He looked at her hand then looked away and climbed to his feet on his own. Sakura just shrugged and turned to walk after Naruto. She only paused to toss a bottle of water onto the ground at his feet. "So you can rinse the lemon juice out of your eyes. I already know you're not going to say thank you," she said as she continued walking.

Sasuke picked up the bottled water and tasted it before rinsing out his eyes. He glared after the departing pair and noticed Kakashi still standing there. "Are you going to do anything to them for that?" he asked.

"No, they were testing you Sasuke. You need to earn their trust. They had to rub you face in your own flaws before you would let yourself see those flaws. I will tell you this. Those two work extremely well as a team already. If anyone is going to make this team fail at anything within its capability, that person will be you.

* * *

The team met every morning for training for the next week. Each day they would try to show Sasuke things they had learned during their Remedial training but Sasuke kept up his arrogant airs. Inside, he raged at how Naruto and Sakura had gotten past him in skill but he knew he had to listen and learn to get back in front of them. His pride would not let him stay weaker than anyone.

He quickly got the step by step method to tree climbing and within a day had nearly mastered it. Water walking took an additional two days. Water crawling was taking a lot longer. Kakashi even participated in the training exercises to build up a sense of oneness but Sasuke resisted it. He could not let go of his anger after so many years. It was all that he had left. It had become his existence.

* * *

The Sand village was concerned about the condition of the Kazekage's son. They had requested that the comatose boy be moved to the Sand village will all speed but Sarutobi prevented it from happening. Both Gaara and Yamanaka Ino went into seizures when the boy was approximately 200 yards away from the girl. Hyuuga Hiashi discovered a thread thin string of chakra between the pair. Somehow, the girl's mind was trapped within Gaara's mind but they were now linked by it. If they were moved too far apart, both would die. The Sand village reluctantly agreed the boy would remain in Konoha for now.

* * *

After the week of training, the team was sent on a relatively easy C rank to deal with reports of some bandits in the north of the Fire Country. 'At least there are really bandits this time,' Sasuke thought. Kakashi was all business from the moment they left the village. He treated them all like professionals and not students. Sasuke actually thought that was an improvement over the previous jonin. He was even surprised at the actions of Sakura and Naruto being very competent in the field. They had pulled out head cloths they tucked under their headbands to hide their brightly colored hair. They kept trying to get Sasuke to try pulling his weight on the mission but he either did not know the things they did or did not try to do them. The teamwork was not there.

The camp was much larger than they had anticipated. It appeared several smaller groups had come together under a single leader. The camp was too big for a single team of near chunin to take out. They would have to scout for information and report back to the Hokage. Kakashi pointed out sentry posts surrounding the camp to the teens. The posts were manned in pairs and within sight and sound range of each other. The organization was better than Kakashi expected for mere bandits

Kakashi had proposed an ambush of a scouting party of bandits to get information on the main camp. The team agreed and sat in wait for some of the bandits. Hours passed and Sasuke was getting more and more impatient. Kakashi had long experience at waiting. Naruto and Sakura had learned the self discipline needed to wait during Remedial. Close to sunset a small group of five bandits was spotted heading for the campsite. Kakashi signaled to the others that they would go for a quiet ambush.

The path through the trees was almost a road due to repeated traffic so the bandits were not paying much attention to their surroundings. Kakashi appeared silently behind the rear guard and vanished with him. The next one was a larger man so Naruto dropped down behind him and chopped his neck just like his training taught him. The only sound was the slight scuff of dirt underfoot. Sakura took the next one slightly better than Naruto did.

Sasuke growled under his breath. Two left and Kakashi signaled he would get the one in front. Sasuke knew he could get them both. He dropped down behind the back one and chopped him better than Sakura or Naruto had done but instead of catching the man, he allowed him to fall to the ground and moved on the remaining bandit. The unconscious one fell to the ground with a loud clang of weapons and alerted the remaining bandit.

The man was no coward but looking back and finding his comrades gone and a teenager wearing a ninja headband running at you was a frightening thing. He screamed loud and shrill, much like a 5 year old girl who spotted a bug. Sasuke knocked him out but the damage had been done. In the distance they could hear shouts of alarm as the sentries for the main camp heard the scream.

Kakashi cursed and signaled to the team they were leaving. Naruto and Sakura complied. They picked up their captives and took to the trees. Kakashi glared at Sasuke and pointed at one of the fallen men. Sasuke grumbled as he picked up the bandit and leapt into the trees. Kakashi performed the headhunter jutsu on the man in the path except no trace of the bandit remained above ground.

Pakkun; Kakashi's favorite hound summon; watched from concealment as the bandits arrived a few minutes later. One pointed at the tracks in the dirt and a conference ensued. One bandit left and returned in fifteen minutes with a man in a gray camouflage outfit and a ninja headband. The pug watched as the ninja performed a jutsu and the body of the bandit was pushed out of the ground. It was too dark for Pakkun to see the symbol on the headband but he could tell it was not slashed like a missing nin's would be. Pakkun returned to his summoning point in to wait for Kakashi to bring him back to this plane to report his findings.

* * *

The quartet of ninja moved silently through the trees with their burdens. After they had gone a good distance, they stopped to discuss their next move. Kakashi kept quiet as Naruto and Sakura checked the bonds of their captives. Sasuke had merely dumped his on the ground and left him. Kakashi was on the point of anger now but he kept his cool. He was glad that his mask hid his expressions as well as his appearance.

"Sasuke, check your prisoner's condition and bindings," Kakashi ordered in a low voice. Sasuke had a look like he was being inconvenienced but did as he was told. Once he was finished, Kakashi motioned the team together for a conference.

"We need to report back to the Hokage. That camp was much better organized than any bandit camp I have seen since just after the last war," Kakashi told them.

"We could have taken them out," Sasuke said. "We're ninja and those were just bandits."

Kakashi glared. "Sasuke, the next time you open your mouth had better be in response to a question you were asked or to report some information. Your opinion shows how much more you have to learn. If all three of you were jonin or ANBU I might consider something against that camp but you're not. A direct assault by this team on that camp would lead to all of us dead and some of the bandits dead."

Naruto and Sakura could feel the cold fury in Kakashi's voice. Both had been told by Cat that Kakashi was a former captain in ANBU and now neither one doubted that information. The Captain was in full force here and both were glad his anger was not directed at them.

Sasuke was shocked to hear Kakashi talk like that. It was not just the fact that Kakashi felt he was wrong but that the leader made it sound like he was speaking down to a child. Sasuke's pride was taking a pounding.

The jonin nicked his finger on a hidden point and rubbed blood on his palm. He made hand signs and summoned Pakkun.

"Yo," said the small dog.

"What did you see, Pakkun?" Kakashi asked.

"Those bandits are well organized. I counted over 100 separate scents. There is at least one high level ninja in that camp but he didn't look like the boss. He found the body you buried and pulled it out. That takes a high level earth technique to accomplish. He had on a headband but I couldn't see what village. He wasn't a missing nin, Kakashi."

Kakashi nodded then ordered the team to take up the captives. They would go back to Konoha and let T&I deal with the captives. The mission had just gone bad and was far past C rank parameters.

* * *

Sarutobi was told by one of his guards that his private team had returned early. He looked out his window to see them walking up to the Tower. He took in their body language from a distance and even he could see that team would not work out like he had wished.

Sakura and Naruto were walking on the opposite side of Kakashi from Sasuke. The Uchiha had a look of disgust and arrogance on his face while Kakashi actually looked angry. Something bad had to have happened to pull that off. He would have to reshuffle some of the Elite teams after the Chunin Exam finals anyhow. If they held together until then, it would help but somehow he doubted it would happen. He would move his next option onto the team and see if a more laid back boy would fit in better.

The Uchiha boy had unbalanced every team he had been with so far. Maybe he should just apprentice the boy to someone who would beat the arrogance out of him.

* * *

Kakashi stood in front of the Hokage making his initial report as the team stood behind him.

"We came upon the bandit camp and it was obviously too well organized to be just bandits. We waited and took a patrol captive and brought most of them back with us. I was forced to kill one but a ninja with the bandits discovered the hidden body," Kakashi said.

Sarutobi stroked his thin beard. This was bad. Jiraiya had come back to town as well with dire information about the new Sound village in Rice Fields Country. He stood and went to a map of the region and pulled it out. Visual references might be more useful right now. He unrolled it on the desk and looked it over. The Hokage pointed at a spot on the map. "You place that camp somewhere about here?" he asked.

Kakashi looked it over. "That is about right, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi noted the point he was holding his finger at was about halfway between the village and the border with the Rice Field Country to the north. He frowned that his dreams of lasting peace might be coming to an end.

* * *

Next Chapter: The Sound of Snakes

* * *

**End Notes:**

I know a few people are going to want to write how OOC Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi are during this. Picture a jock in high school who was the king of the school, popular, good at sports and teenage girl crush object. Now have two of the people he lorded over in high school join the military and go through basic and come back after and see that the guy who was king is still at the same level he was then, doing the same things and hanging out with a similar crowd and thinks he is still better than everyone else after turning down a sports scholarship. Honestly, anyone who has been through military training and come back to see their old high school jock buddies might feel a similar disgust to what Sakura and Naruto are feeling towards Sasuke in this chapter.

As far as Kakashi, he had it told to him flat out by his boss he was a screw up and then proceeded to 'rip him a new one'. Kakashi took that and it made him see how far he had let himself fall over the years. He is trying to bring himself back and while the team is not ANBU they are no longer just raw genin needing a jonin to teach them everything. Kakashi is able to work closer to his comfort zone that way. Later adventures in canon do show he is an effective field leader but says little about his teaching skills

**Review Notes:**

The whole Team 8 in the hospital subplot will be addressed soon. I was surprised to see so few comments on the threat to Hinata or sympathy for Ino

Yes, I got rid of Gaara temporarily. Jiraiya will be appearing next chapter and deal with the sleeping pair. Sand will need to explain a few things and Konoha will not like the answers.

To use the Matrix, There is no Sai. Sai / Gashi is not available for now.

I really did want to have Sasuke pounded into the ground but that would have doomed any chance for teamwork right away. I honestly have not addressed his post arc future.

**On a Personal Note:**

My inner geek was having a giggle fit all weekend (yes, inner geeks are allowed to giggle). jgktarel messaged me to tell me that I have gotten noticed by the Viridian Dreams Forum and they started a thread about MY stories. Viridian Dreams was started by S'tarKan, writer of 'Team 8' and people posting there felt I was worthy of discussion.

I hope I stay worthy

Stats at posting Chapter 11

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Chapter 11 posted 6/02/09


	12. The Sound of Snakes

**The Sound of Snakes**

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage was not happy. There were many things driving that unhappiness this morning.

Several of the more prominent clans were almost coming to blows over the outcome of the second round of the Chunin Exams. The Hyuuga elders wanted to break Hiashi to their will by condemning his older daughter to a life in the Branch family. She had been badly hurt during the survival test defending her team and the elders foolishly tried to brand the girl with the caged bird seal for her 'weakness'. The actions of the Inuzuka and Aburame had prevented this by calling a blood debt with Hinata over her saving potential heirs to each clan. The aged leader was concerned that it would erupt into a full out civil war between those three clans.

It would not stop there of course. Any clan with a grievance against another would jump into the fight and in the end all of Konoha would be destroyed. Right now, all they could do was wait for the Hyuuga elders to back down from their high handed proclamation. Hiashi had been in to see him but he was hampered by his clan. Once the three Elite genin in question were healthy things might improve.

The next headache was one almost as severe. Yamanaka Ino and Subaku no Gaara were locked in a mutual coma. Ever since her using a clan mind jutsu on the boy, both had been trapped within their minds. The Yamanaka clan could not even break the jutsu without killing both youths and separating them by more than a few hundred yards would do the same. For two weeks now, the pair had been locked away in his mind. He could only imagine what was going on in there.

The remains of Root were his next headache. None of the captured members responded to normal interrogation techniques. The children that were freed were able to tell of their treatment and that gave Morino Ibiki a place to start. However, even the expert Ibiki could only go so far with that information.

Of what remained free, Sarutobi could not truly guess. Reports from ANBU and Blue Aardvark were that a minimum of four agents were known to have escaped the operation that destroyed the Root HQ. The number of sleeper agents was unknown and might never be known. Danzo would not talk either. Only he knew the full extent of his organization.

His newest headache was even more sinister. The bandits Kakashi had brought in the day before sang like birds when interrogated. They were setting up an advance base for a larger force but they had no clue who that force was. The only 'larger force' in that direction were the ninja of the new Sound village. There was too much unknown about that village but Sarutobi had too many internal concerns to deal with for the past few years to do more than send an occasional spy in that direction. Jiraiya was overdue to be back in town already and he should have something on this new village. Dealing with the 'advance base' would take a minimum of four squads of ANBU at this point if he wanted to keep things quiet. His trouble was that during the Chunin Exams most ANBU were assigned to protection details. All he could do for the next three weeks was to rotate individuals on a daily watch of the camp.

The last problem facing Sarutobi was purely personal. His latest project was having trouble. Uchiha Sasuke was going to have to be removed from the team he created. The other members worked extremely well together but Sasuke just would not be a team player. He knew Kakashi had taken on the team he had been planned to receive months before but there was still something missing in it. The remedial training Naruto and Sakura had been through had drastically changed the mix. Their skill level had risen exponentially during the training. The pair had been through more than their share of trials and had little sympathy for someone who could not deal with problems.

Sakura understood losing a parent to the life of a ninja. Naruto had never had anyone close enough to him to lose but he knew loneliness. Naruto had overcome the animosity of the civilians in the village and still kept mostly sane. Neither could understand how Sasuke could turn away all offers of help from a majority of the people in Konoha. The dark brooding boy seemed to only have a yearning for greater power and revenge. As far as Sarutobi could tell, anything that did not have immediate or tangible results was discounted as a waste of his time by the boy.

'The boy needs serious mental help,' Sarutobi thought as he watched the sunrise from his window. 'I need to find a way to get him the help he needs without it looking like he is being locked away. Balancing what needs to be done against the agenda of most of the smaller clans and ninja families in Konoha is difficult. If it would not have caused a mass revolt, I would have had it done immediately after the killing of the Uchiha.'

Sarutobi felt it was owed to Itachi to have Sasuke cared for but the boy was making things difficult for him. Even he could only overlook so much.

* * *

'Another team exercise bites the dust,' Kakashi thought as the trio in front of him descended into a near brawl again. 'Naruto and Sakura are really good at teamwork but Sasuke just will not let go of his pride long enough to do his part.'

The planned exercise today had been a covert operation against a guardhouse. The beginning had gone well with the team making an undetected approach good enough for Kakashi's standards. Once they were set to go in was when the problems started. Sasuke wanted to be the one 'fighting' when the assignments Kakashi had given had him standing guard outside. This led to the entire operation being blown when they got 'discovered'.

The recurring problem was that Sasuke wanted to be using his jutsu even when the mission did not call for it. He was not suited to a stealth team. 'Correction, he is not suited to _any_ team until he learns that it's not about getting stronger, it's about doing your job,' Kakashi clarified in his head. 'Strength comes from doing things until they become second nature and building skill up from there.'

'Maybe Hokage-sama can assign Sasuke to the Remedial program to learn a few things, like patience and discipline,' Kakashi mused. 'These problems are almost enough to make me pull out the Icha Icha again.'

The silver haired jonin had promised the Hokage he would not have the book out during duty time as a part of his own second chance. He took it seriously. Being yelled at by the Hokage for his failings was bad enough once. He did not want it to happen again.

"Okay team," he called out to the shouting genin. "Why don't we take the afternoon off to relax and take care of personal business?"

Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other and finally Naruto walked away from the arrogant Uchiha. Sasuke just gave his trademarked "Hn' and went his own way.

Sakura sighed as she watched both teammates walk off. She had been trying to be the peacemaker but only served to get her yelled at from both sides. She actually sided with Naruto but was trying to make things work. The only one not willing to compromise here was Sasuke. Until he got it into his head he needed help from other people, he would always end up failing. Her mind constructed a minor fantasy of the Uchiha trying to restart his clan alone. The thought just made her laugh and shake her head. She knew biology made it impossible but still, little self made clones of Sasuke driving him nuts by acting exactly like him were too funny to not laugh at.

She walked after Naruto and sat down nearby as the blonde abused a poor defenseless training post. One positive thing about the Remedial course was Naruto trained when he was upset now. It was better than the pranks he had pulled back in the Academy when upset. She just sat and meditated on her chakra while Naruto abused the post for a half hour before just yelling out in frustration.

"Can I beat him senseless, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

"No, because Hokage-sama wouldn't like it," she replied still molding her chakra into the ground underneath her legs.

"Why won't he listen to an idea that isn't his?" he asked as he sat down and leaned on the post.

"Because his pride won't let him see we caught up to him and in a few ways are better than him now. If he did he would have to admit he is not getting stronger as fast as he would like. Sad thing is he is the one holding himself back. He tries to do it himself when the person he is trying to catch took advantage of the help of others to get strong in the first place," Sakura replied. She had even mentioned that option to Sasuke only to get the idea shot down like every other argument she had made to the Uchiha. _She_ was fed up with him as well but kept trying in spite of it all.

Naruto nodded. "Why don't we go check on Ino? Maybe they found something today," he suggested.

Sakura smiled inside at Naruto's suggestion. They did not expect much to have been done but they would check anyhow. That was what friends do.

* * *

The hospital waiting room still had a similar group waiting; Ino's parents, a Hyuuga, an Aburame, an Inuzuka, Shikamaru and Choji. That alone told the pair that nothing had changed. The gloomy atmosphere in the room did not help much. Sakura nodded to Shikamaru who only nodded back. Choji looked terrible. He obviously had done little for this past two weeks. He was supposed to be in the Chunin Exam finals along with Shikamaru but it looked like both might have to forfeit. All Choji was doing was eating and had put on a number of pounds. He looked big even for an Akimichi of his age range.

Naruto walked up to Shikamaru. The pair shook hands and spoke in quiet tones.

"Any change?" Naruto asked.

"No, no word at all. Ino's clan thinks anything that will happen has to some from inside. They don't understand or won't tell us why both are trapped like they are. I suspect there is something about Gaara that Suna is not talking about and hiding from us. Something that would solve this whole mystery," Shikamaru explained.

Naruto nodded. He knew that Shikamaru was a lot smarter than he let on for a long time. His learning to slow down and think about his own actions had allowed him to see that in the quiet boy. "How are you guys holding up?"

"Me? Not so bad. My mom makes me get out of here in the evenings and my dad makes me get in a couple hours of training a day but I am worried about Choji. He is here most of the time. It's obvious he cares about Ino but he is letting himself go. We need to get him out of here for a few hours at least."

Sakura got a shiver when she saw the grin appear on Naruto's face. "Naruto, what are you planning?" she whispered.

"Go with Shikamaru and open the doors between here and the exit. Oh, make sure everyone is out of the way, too," he said with his old foxy grin.

The friends did what Naruto asked as he sidled up and sat next to Choji.

"How are things going, Choji?" Naruto asked.

"Not good, Ino won't wake up," Choji muttered without looking up.

Naruto nodded in sympathy. He saw Sakura motion that the way out of the building was clear.

"Well, you never know. Things will get better, Choji. But there is one thing that needs dealing with," Naruto said with a nod.

"Oh? What's that?" Choji asked.

"Well, I am just wondering how Ino will react when she sees how fat you got," Naruto said in an offhand manner.

Choji's eyebrow twitched. "What did you say?" he replied in a quiet voice.

"Fat. When Ino sees how _fat_ you got just sitting around waiting for her to get better," Naruto said with a big grin.

Choji's face turned red as Naruto kept pushing at his weak spot. Even Ino's parents noticed it. Naruto just kept speaking like he saw nothing.

"You know, maybe we should have you and Ino trade names after this. She can be the Butterfly while you take her place as the Big Fat Pig," Naruto said as he stood up.

Choji was almost purple in anger now as he roared out and swung at the already moving Naruto. Then the blonde was off down the hallway toward the exit with Choji in pursuit.

Shikamaru took a few seconds to tell Ino's parents everything was fine and Naruto had done that on purpose to get Choji out of there for a little while. He would be back later on after Choji calmed down. The lazy Nara then ran off after his friend to make sure Naruto survived Choji's anger.

* * *

Over the years, Naruto had developed a good sense of the geography of Konoha. He immediately knew where to lead Choji as he kept himself just out of reach. Every time it looked like the Akimichi was going to stop his chase, Naruto would enrage him again by oinking at the rotund teen.

Once in the training fields, Naruto spun and sucker punched Choji then got into a ready stance.

Choji still was too angry to see what Naruto was doing and attacked. His arms wheeled and spun as he tried to hit Naruto but the blonde kept making parries and blocks with few responses. Naruto used just enough on his counters to make Choji have to get up a defense. As Choji's training took over, his attacks became more focused. Naruto felt an especially hard hit to the jaw that almost loosened teeth and knew Choji was focused enough.

Naruto jumped back and cast a low level water jutsu at Choji. "Water whip," the blonde said in a low voice as a whip of water rose from the nearby stream. The water flew at Choji who dodged it in a speed that defied his bulk. Naruto was forced to keep his fingers in a certain position while his arms moved to manipulate the water.

Choji called out, "Baika no jutsu: Both Hands." The teen's hands grew to enormous size and he swung one at Naruto and the other at the water whip that kept flailing at his head. The palm of one hand hit the water and the whip shattered with a splash while the other forced Naruto to dodge to avoid getting hit.

Choji settled himself into a different stance than the Academy taught and began to make taijutsu strikes at Naruto with his enlarged hands and forearms. His bulk kept him firmly rooted while the extended limbs made Naruto have to dodge to avoid him.

Naruto found he could not block or parry the enlarged fists and arms of Choji. He was forced to keep moving and could not find the time to make a counterattack. A horizontal swing by Choji had Naruto leap up only to get slapped to the ground by a table sized palm coming down from above. Naruto slammed into the ground with a thud. He stood but his back was to Choji and could not see the next attack coming.

Choji clapped his hands together capturing Naruto between the palms of his hands. The shock stunned Naruto but Choji followed with an uppercut that sent Naruto flying back into a tree.

Choji was about to follow up and keep hitting Naruto but he found he couldn't move. "That's enough, Choji," Shikamaru said. "You got to hit Naruto for calling you … that word. Now you need to calm down."

Choji blinked a few times as his head cleared of anger. "He did it on purpose just to get a rise out of me didn't he?"

"Yup," said Shikamaru. "You know that Ino would be yelling at both of us for sitting around like we've been doing. I knew it and have been working some at home after visiting hours. You have just been sitting around moping and not listening to anyone. Naruto just took the most direct route to convincing you of that."

"I just want Ino to get better, Shikamaru," Choji said in a rough voice.

"So do I big guy," Shikamaru replied. "We can't just sit and wait for that. We have responsibilities now too. The Chunin Exam Finals are in a little while. But you know something; I didn't think you could use your family jutsu like that. I've never seen anyone in your family do taijutsu with their hands and arms like that."

Choji smiled slightly for the first time in weeks. "It was something I had been thinking about a lot while sitting in the waiting room. It takes a lot of chakra control. Since it was on my mind, I used it."

Naruto was up and slowly walking over to Choji. His face was a massive bruise.

"Sorry about calling you that, Choji. I had to say something to snap you out of your funk," Naruto lisped over his fat lip. Then the blonde bowed properly, "I apologize."

"I should be thanking you Naruto. But apology accepted. Let's go get something to eat. All that fighting got me hungry. It's your treat, right?" Choji said with an edge to his voice.

Naruto paled and nodded. For the first time he would know what it felt like for Iruka when the teacher treated him to ramen.

* * *

The entire ninja corps knew something was going on now. The Hokage had increased patrols throughout the Fire Country. Their leader had even asked the Daimyo to have all missing person reports forwarded to Konoha. The number of bandit attacks in the countryside dropped dramatically as the Konoha patrols pushed further and further from the main village. The village was on the edge of a war footing but Sarutobi went to the Daimyo himself to explain his actions. He returned quickly with the leader's blessing.

The days counted down toward the Chunin Exam finals as leaders and dignitaries arrived to see the spectacle. It appeared as if things would go off without a problem. The bandit base in the north was still unmolested because Sarutobi did not want the people behind it to know Konoha was aware of a plan in the works. Then, a patrol in the southwestern part of the Fire Country did not report in.

Team Kakashi was dispatched to investigate. The Hokage would have liked to have sent an ANBU squad but he had most of them still tied up in protection duty. He was stretching the military ninja thinly with all of the patrols as it was. The only free squad was his personal one.

"Why do we have to be the ones to go out on this search, Kakashi-sensei? We are going to miss the fights if this takes more than a day or two." Naruto grumbled.

"We are going because Hokage-sama told us to," Kakashi said with a chuckle.

"You're not planning going against orders, are you Naruto?" Sakura asked as she stuck out her tongue at Naruto. She enjoyed it when Naruto grumbled.

"I'm here running through the trees ain't I?" Naruto reposted. "How far until we reach the missing squad's patrol area?"

Kakashi thought for a moment before replying.

"About a full day out from Konoha. It was one of the long range border patrols; a mix of chunin and genin ninja. They are supposed to report back daily by messenger bird but there was nothing from them for a second day now. Late is one thing but no reporting means something is wrong."

Sasuke just was quiet and listened. He felt he was not a part of this team in any real sense. After the first incident on being assigned to this team, neither Naruto nor Sakura tried to beat him down like they had. More often than not they went about their business and would ask him if he wished to join in once. He had only grunted and ignored the offer. Sakura just said, "When you're ready to accept help, you know where to find us." On some level he found himself wanting to belong but he knew he never could. He was an avenger. He just pushed the thoughts of friends out of his head. He would get stronger and deal with his brother on his own.

* * *

The squad came up to a small town. The Daimyo kept a small garrison here because the town was along a trade route. The garrisons took care of normal policing within the country and handled normal bandits and criminals. Kakashi decided to check in with the commander to find out if any news had come in. He had the genin check the area surrounding the town for signs of ninja activity but to stay within signal range of the town. The jonin was impressed at the appearance of the barracks of this detachment of the Legion. The camp was clean and organized. It seems the man running it kept his men disciplined and organized. It should take less than an hour to talk to the garrison commander.

Kakashi walked into the building and asked to see the commander. The secretary nodded quickly and went to see his commander. Under the Daimyo's orders, a Konoha jonin had an unofficial rank of Low Officer within the Legions. Since the garrison commander was only a High Sergeant, he saw Kakashi immediately.

"Welcome, Sir," the commander said warmly. "What can we help you with today?"

"Ah, Sergeant-san, my squad was sent to check on a missing border patrol of ours and I was hoping you might have any information on local happenings or rumors," Kakashi said in a warm tone.

'At least this jonin is not the overbearing type,' the sergeant thought. 'He still has some respect for the military.' "We have only heard a few travelers' tales in the bar about the Sand being mobilized but there have been no reports of anything else, Sir. Our own patrols have seen nothing as of this morning."

Kakashi nodded. Konoha had heard nothing of the Sand village being mobilized but then caravan merchants tended to not be allowed to enter Konoha. Goods that came to Konoha were only brought in by authorized middlemen from trade towns some distance out from the village itself. It was a security measure designed to cut down on the number of outsiders in the village. The Chunin Exams was the only time that the village was more open to visitors without rigorous screening.

"Thank you, Sergeant-san," Kakashi said nodding gratefully. "I'll leave you to your duties. I appreciate your assistance."

Kakashi left quickly after that. He signaled to his team and headed out of town toward the point where the missing team had last reported. The genin formed up on him quickly. Kakashi noted that Sasuke was doing what he needed to even if he avoided the rest of the team. They still had not cracked his shell.

* * *

Kakashi estimated they were within an hour's travel from the last known position of the missing patrol. He signaled a stop and summoned out Pakkun. The pug listened as Kakashi briefed the dog. The dog then led off

Naruto was still surprised at how intelligent the dog was. A talking animal was not something common but he had taught to expect strange things.

The group had not traveled very far when Pakkun veered off to one side to what looked like a clearing ahead. The squad stopped near the edge and was shocked by what they saw.

The clearing was actually shattered trees. The smell of blood was lingering even to Sakura's untrained nose. Scavengers had already been at the bodies and the torn remains were scatter amid the broken tree limbs.

Kakashi signaled for the team to wait while he moved to examine the broken branches. All had been cut cleanly and in multiple places. 'It was a wind jutsu,' he thought. 'Outside of Suna there are few wind users and I can't think of any missing nin reported nearby that use such jutsu. We need to get back to Konoha and report this.'

Kakashi sensed something closing in quickly and moved out of the way. He jumped toward the direction he had felt the attack come from. His tactic proved correct when a trio of explosions roared behind him. If he had moved away from his attackers, he would have been caught in one of them. Now that he was somewhat in the clear, he focused on who had assaulted him.

Three ninja wearing Sound headbands and a fourth wearing a full face ANBU style mask were arrayed in front of him. Kakashi noticed Sasuke coming up from behind to support him directly while Naruto and Sakura were nowhere to be seen.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun. Just the person I needed to talk to," the masked ninja said in muffed tones.

"Why would you be looking for me?" Sasuke growled out.

"I have an offer for you. If you join us, you can get the strength you are looking for to kill Itachi. You just have to come to Sound with us. Orochimaru has more than enough power to grant you what you need."

"Don't trust them, Sasuke," Kakashi broke in. "Orochimaru is a liar and a criminal. He experiments on people who trust him."

"Enough talking!" cried out the largest Sound ninja. His gray camouflage outfit did not blend well in the green and brown trees. His hands flashed through a jutsu and he cupped his hands around his mouth and screamed, "Ahhhhhhhhh!" The sound waves from his shout were deafening and both Kakashi and Sasuke leapt away before the full effect hit them. The tree stump Kakashi had been standing on shattered under the waves of sound that hit it moments later.

Sasuke was in mid-air and began his own jutsu when an attack from the second Sound ninja hit him. The girl plucked a string on a small handheld harp. The sound hit Sasuke just as he began to breathe out a fireball. The boy found himself completely disoriented as the vibrations played havoc with his sense of balance. He still got his fireball off in the direction of the masked ninja, however.

The four enemies scattered. Three headed for Kakashi while the girl focused on Sasuke. Sasuke was able to regain enough sense to land awkwardly on a fallen tree branch before jumping down in between several to get out of view of his enemies.

Kakashi looked left and right at the edges of the clearing and nodded quickly. He jumped toward the masked ninja while the third Sound ninja began his own jutsu. He was moving through the hand signs when he suddenly stopped with a gurgle. His teammates looked back to see a pair of kunai embedded in his neck; one on either side. The Sound ninja fell dead with no further noise as blood spewed from his severed neck arteries. The large ninja looked around but saw no other Leaf ninja besides the pair in front of him.

Sasuke reached back into his equipment pouch and pulled out several kunai. He hurled them at the girl with the harp. "So you like playing with wires? Try playing with mine then!" he yelled.

The girl dodged the kunai but not the ninja wire they were attached to. She found herself caught as the kunai embedded in the fallen branches under her feet. "Katon: Housenka no jutsu (Phoenix Flower)" Sasuke shouted as he shot several fireballs at the trapped girl. She was too busy struggling to escape as the close range juts scorched her body. The shuriken hidden inside the fireballs all impacted in vital locations as well, killing the Sound girl.

Kakashi had pulled out kunai and engaged in hand to hand combat with the masked ninja. Neither could gain an upper hand as both were too fast for the other to get in a clean blow. Drops of blood from minor cuts dotted their uniforms as they fought. 'This masked man is ANBU level at least,' Kakashi thought. 'I need a new plan.'

The large Sound ninja tried to circle around to get behind Kakashi when Naruto and Sakura burst out of the trees on either side of him. The Sound ninja tried to leap away but a blow from Naruto sent him to the ground. He was skidding along when Sakura closed in on him. The man spun ready for her and parried her lead attack with one hand. He followed up with a sharp blow to her stomach with the other. Sakura gasped as she took the hit to her solar plexus. The Sound ninja followed up with a downward blow to her face, knocking the girl to the ground at his feet.

Naruto closed back in on the enemy as the man spun towards him. The man started on some hand signs when he pitched forward shouting in pain. Both of his Achilles tendons were severed by a kunai. Sakura rose up behind his fallen form gasping out, "Don't turn you back on a downed enemy. Down is not always out. Besides, Naruto hits harder than you." She coughed as she tried to catch her breath. Naruto began to bind the fallen enemy's arms behind his back.

Kakashi and the masked enemy both noted the fall of the Sound team and the masked man made a move to get away. Kakashi took the moment of his enemy trying to find an escape route to launch a spread of shuriken. Two managed to hit the man as he fled; one in the leg, the other in the stomach. A trail of blood fell to the ground as the man disappeared into the trees.

Kakashi wasted no time. He swiped a bit of blood from one of his small cuts and quickly made five hand signs and pressed it to the broken tree limb he stood on. There was a cloud of chakra smoke and when it cleared seven dogs sat there. Pakkun raced in from the shadows to join them.

"Track the man that left. Find out where he is heading. Sound ninja would not be operating this deep in the Fire Country without some kind of hideout. Report back to me. If he just hides, kill him," Kakashi ordered.

The dogs barked as a unit and followed the blood trail.

Kakashi turned to look over the squad. Naruto was unharmed and checking the body his and Sakura's kunai had nearly beheaded. Sasuke was standing to one side with his arms crossed and a disgusted look on his face. Sakura had the makings of a huge bruise on the right side of her face and was still wheezing but that was fading fast. Kakashi looked at the captive and made a small smile. "So, got anything you want to confess before we get to the painful part?"

Before Kakashi could follow up on his threat, his hounds came running back.

"Kakashi!" Pakkun cried out. "We have trouble!"

The dogs all stopped in a semicircle before Kakashi. "What is it, Pakkun?" Kakashi asked.

"Not even five minutes travel away from here for you humans. More Sand ninjas than I could count! They are coming this way and I don't think you want to be here when they arrive. Their course is directly towards Konoha!" Pakkun said.

* * *

Next Chapter: Run, Run, Run, As Fast as You Can.

* * *

**End Notes:**

Most of a day's travel away from Konoha and the Sand army minutes behind them. Not looking too good for the home team. The Chunin Exam final begins the following day. It seems there will be a bigger fight on hand than the planned seven matches.

On a lighter note from the manga, it seems Danzo is in charge of Konoha does have a single benefit. They finally got someone to declare the traitorous Uchiha as a missing ninja. It took them long enough.

**Review Notes:**

Kalisko. Eventually, a large portion of the Elite ninja would make jonin. Provided they do not die or quit along the way of course. The military side ones tend to be quick risers to chunin level then max out on their potential due to the style of training. The military side ones that have greater potential tend to end up more in ANBU than as jonin within this AU.

Coronal. I try for 5000 word chapters before I add in notes and such. Sorry you think that is too short but it is plenty long for this writer.

MasterDK. Naruto was just shutting up since he was in enough trouble already.

A good portion of the reviewers liked the Sasuke beating. While it was not quite the beat down some had hoped for, I could not go that far without destroying the idea that Sasuke _could_ be a part of the team if he changed. They beat him then stopped. The idea was that the shock of losing to the people he looked down on would be enough to shock him into a change. There is a hint of a possible one in this chapter. They keep offering help but never pushing it on him. In order for Sasuke to make any change, he has to want to reach out for that last bit.

**Story Info:**

I mentioned a ranking system for the Legions so I felt I needed to clarify it somewhat. The base of it is what most military organizations follow. Konoha ninja stand outside the organization but are assigned Legion ranks based on their own rank. The ninja cannot directly order the Legion without written orders from a Legion general. However, lower ranked will generally listen to a ninja of 'higher' rank I'll start at the top.

General - Pretty self explanitory. The Hokage holds this rank as a courtesy.  
High Officer - Sr. officers similar to Colonel / Major. Expereinced leaders, future generals or nobles of too high a station to leave as Low Officers Large garrison commanders.  
Low Officer - Jr. officers similar to Captain / Lieutenant. Young and / or inexperienced officers. Medium garrison commanders. Mainly noble born who enter into Legion service for political gain. Konoha Jonin hold this rank as a courtesy.  
High Sergeant - Senior NCO's, career military men of good skill unwilling or unable to be moved to officer's rank. Small garrison commanders. Exceptional younger men of non noble birth assigned this rank are likely to be promoted as it is used to give them leadership experience before consideration for officer. Also, inexperienced Low Officers ignore 'advice' from these men at their own peril. Also the highest possible rank of a conscript.  
Low Sergeant - Junior NCO's, Squad leaders, Konoha chunin hold this rank as a courtesy.  
Troopers - plain enlisted soldiers with sufficient training to perform their duties, Konoha genin hold this rank as a courtesy.  
Conscripts - untrained soldiers, levied forces on times of war, criminal conscripts never advance beyond this rank.


	13. Run, Run, Run, As Fast As You Can!

**Run, Run, Run, As Fast as You Can**

The Sand ninja force was making good progress in its drive to Konoha. They had another six hours before they would stop to make camp. Sunset was approaching and traveling in the dark of the forests of the Fire Country would slow them down. The forces would stop about 4 hours travel from the village. They just needed to finish this last leg of the trip in secret and Konoha would fall.

They were approaching an opening in the forest when a scout reported a Leaf ninja standing in the middle of it reading an orange book. The jonin in charge of one of the columns signaled a halt to his ninja. He was troubled because Sound teams should have been dealing with the Leaf patrols. Small groups moved out on both sides to check for traps and ambushes while slightly scattering forces for safety. Other columns further out continued on toward Konoha

The lead jonin sent a low level jonin out to see what was going on with this Leaf ninja. The masked man had white hair that stood up and the man's headband was lowered over his left eye. The man was familiar somehow so he quietly asked his aide for information from the Bingo Book.

"That is Sharingan Kakashi, Sir. If he is here they must know about our breaking the alliance and pending attack with Sound," the man replied.

"This far from Konoha? No, I think it is just chance we ran into him. If they knew we were coming they would have kept someone like that closer to the village," the commander said in a confident voice.

The Sand jonin approached Kakashi in a friendly manner. Kakashi looked up from his book and smiled at the Sand jonin. You could only tell he was by the expression on the small visible part of his face.

"Good evening," Kakashi said. "You and all of your friends seem to be a little far from the Wind Country. Might I ask you business here in the Fire Country?"

The jonin had a quick mind and had a prepared lie just in case.

"We are traveling to Konoha to watch the Kazekage's son fight in the Chunin Exams," he said.

"Ah, well did you bring your tickets with you?" Kakashi asked raising his eyebrow.

The jonin was surprised by the question. No one had mentioned having a conversation about this.

"Um, no, we are going to be getting tickets when we arrive," he said as he nodded his head.

"I see," Kakashi said nodding as well. "But you would be disappointed. The arena sold out of tickets last week and the Hokage does not allow standing room tickets to be sold. You are making a trip for nothing. Perhaps you should turn around and return to the Wind Country."

The Sand jonin was getting more confused as the minutes passed. This Leaf ninja was acting like nothing was out of the ordinary. He had not lowered his book either.

"Um, I'll go pass that on to my friends. We're going to be disappointed huh?" he asked.

"If you turn back you'll be just disappointed. If you go past me, you'll be like them." Kakashi said while idly turning a page in the book.

The breeze shifted slightly just then. The smell of blood hit the Sand jonin as he looked past Kakashi to see three dead Sound ninjas. The bodies had been searched for weapons and equipment that was not taken had been broken. He looked back at Kakashi. "What happened to them?"

Kakashi looked up and smiled once more, "No tickets."

The Sand commander was nervous now. His force had been standing still for nearly three minutes now. The sentries that moved out had found nothing. Some had moved around the edge of the clearing and found nothing beyond it. This person was alone. They should just kill him and move on.

The Sand jonin talking to Kakashi was now scared. The Leaf ninja in front of him should be sensing the hundreds of ninja surrounding the clearing but he gave no sign of worry. The slight shifting of feet and the creaking of the branch the man was standing on proved he was not a bunshin.

The Sand jonin decided to act. "Ok, I guess we'll just head back then. Thanks for the information." He stuck out his hand and waited for Kakashi to shake it. They were allies of course. Allies were friendly to each other. Kakashi smiled and took the offered hand and shook. The white haired jonin never saw the kunai that pierced his side.

The Sand jonin grinned at the stupidity of the Leaf ninja when Kakashi disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke. Seconds after that, explosions underneath him tore him to pieces.

"Dammit, it was all a trick, a shadow clone!" grumbled the lead jonin. He hated to lose a man like that but now they needed to catch up to the ninja who had created it.

* * *

Kakashi almost missed a step as he felt the shadow clone disperse. The darkening sky overhead was going to make it difficult to see in the forest soon. 'Well that only bought us a couple of minutes. Some of the Sand ninja didn't even slow down. We have to warn Konoha and also see what we can do to slow these Sand ninja down,' he thought.

Naruto was quiet. He had not even had time to react to his first kill yet and now he was being thrust into a war. He had just thrown the kunai. It was just like he had trained. The fact that it ended the Sound ninja's life bothered him. He threw it like he had in practice a thousand or more times. It was easy until he heard the gurgle from the enemy. Then when they were forced to flee, Kakashi had simply slit the throat of the captive Sound ninja with about as much worry as a butcher cutting a side of beef. It was something to think about.

"Well, my shadow clone slowed some of them down for a few minutes. There are a lot more Sand ninja out there. Several hundred minimum," Kakashi told his team.

Sakura looked worried. "What do we do, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked.

"Since they are in the Fire Country in force and 'killed' my shadow clone, that means we are at war. We fight them as best as we can and find a way to report this back to Konoha. It means one of us should go on ahead while the other three try to slow down the enemy," Kakashi said with a quiet voice.

"I'm staying," Naruto said with a firm voice. "I am not abandoning my friends."

"If Naruto is staying, so am I," Sakura put in. "He would do something stupid like get himself killed if I left him behind."

"I guess that means Sasuke will have to get the message back to Konoha," Kakashi said.

Sasuke hesitated. He didn't want to look like a coward now. The words of his brother years before suddenly echoed in his ears. '_Run, run and cling to life_' If he took that path again he would be running forever. Naruto and Sakura had been trouble and might be holding him back but they had not given up on him in spite of his actions. They could have pounded him into the ground like he would have done but they chose not to. They had beaten him to show him that they could but then offered friendship. It bothered him because it made him lose focus on his vengance. The fact that Sakura kept saying he could not do everything alone echoed in his dreams. If he wanted to rebuild his clan one day, he _would_ need at least one woman's help.

But if he stayed to fight, he could die and lose any chance for his vengance. In the past, the thought of not getting Itachi to pay for his crimes was unacceptable. But the thought of running away now felt even worse.

"I won't run away this time, Kakashi-sensei," Saskue spoke up after his thoughts finished. "We'll have to find some other method to warn Konoha."

The team had kept leaping through the trees as they spoke. Kakashi noticed they were close to the village outpost they had stopped in on the way out. 'Yes, they had a corral with horses,' he remembered. The team had five minutes, at most ten before the column caught up to them. Even the soldiers needed more time than that to get moving.

Kakashi stopped at a good location near the top of a hill. The trees were not quite as tall here and had a slightly increased view of the approach. He created a shadow clone who immediately took off running to the outpost. The jonin then swallowed a food pill to regain some of his energy. He looked to the team.

"My shadow clone will take a message to the Legion garrison we stopped at this afternoon. He will have them send a message off by rider back toward Konoha and hopefully alert any patrols we have closer to the village," Kakashi explained. "We need to buy him enough time for the soldiers to get riders moving."

Naruto frowned. "This is the second time you mentioned a shadow clone, Kakashi-sensei. It's just another bunshin, right?"

"No Naruto. It is a special jutsu that makes a limited copy of me that can do tasks and perform jutsu. It's very draining due to the chakra it needs. It's also a jonin level technique that is forbidden from common use," Kakashi explained.

"But for now, we need to delay the ninja behind us long enough for him to do his job. Once the warning gets out we start playing cat and mouse with these Sand ninja. Sakura, Naruto, start setting explosive tags on the bottom of the branches in an arc around us about thirty yards out. Sasuke, get some wires set up just inside of that. Leave us a path out but it will slow down the enemy from overwhelming us too quickly."

The genin quickly got to work. Naruto was intrigued by the jutsu but he had other things to worry about.

* * *

The hospital in Konoha was quiet as dusk settled over the village. Visitors were being sent away so the night shift could come on duty. The room holding the still forms of Gaara and Ino constantly had an ANBU guard inside and outside of the room. Even without knowing much about medicine the agent knew that the condition of the pair was unnatural. The nurse had explained about the brain wave patterns should not be that low. The agent had seen it often enough over the past few shifts to notice that the patterns had shifted slighty as the days passed. Tonight, he was looking at one and was puzzled by something else new.

The patterns had increased and began moving synchronized.

* * *

The Sand ninja stopped in the gloom when they noticed the Leaf team waiting ahead. The younger ones all seemed to be quite tired from the increased speed since meeting the shadow clone. The leader fanned his troops out so they would not be taken out by a single jutsu. The lead jonin was more leery of a trap than he was last time. He stopped about twenty yards away from them when he spotted the wire between the trees.

"Surrender and I promise you will not suffer," he called out.

"Oh?" Kakashi replied. "That means you plan to kill us quickly I assume?"

Sakura noted the Sand ninja trying to flank their position and signaled to Kakashi.

Kakashi triggered the explosive tags. Dozens of tags blew up sending shattered pieces of tree limbs flying upwards. The shrapnel tore into the legs of dozens of Sand ninja higher up while the blast downward took out more down on the ground before the falling debris landed on them as well.

Sasuke flung shuriken off to the sides releasing the wire net he had woven between the team and the ambush. Naruto and Sakura flung kunai with more explosive tags attached at any clump of Sand ninja they could see. Additional explosions rocked the forest. Kakashi and Sasuke sprung into melee to the left while Naruto and Sakura went to the other side.

* * *

Kakashi had not told the genin but his choice of place for an ambush as well as the timing of it was deliberate. The hilltop explosion could be heard for miles around but could be seen much further than that. Even if the garrison could not get the word out, some Leaf ninja would see the blast and report it.

Sasuke's blood pounded in his ears as he fired his Phoenix Flower jutsu at another clump of Sand ninja. The plan was to create as many casualties as possible before they tried to break contract. He was quickly going through his chakra but he did not let up his attacks. He dodged the thrown kunai of a chunin and saw that Kakashi was being attacked by at least three Sand ninja at once. The Uchiha could not even warn his team leader as he was forced to dodge an even greater amount of kunai and shuriken heading his way. The deepening darkness was working against him as he could not track every object thrown at him. He kept trying to focus but the smoke was making his eyes water and hurt.

A blade cut across his leg and almost threw him off balance. He cursed and dodged again only to see he was moving into a volley of shuriken he could not dodge. He was about to cover his vitals when he could see the paths the shuriken would travel. He twisted wildly in midair and only took a few minor cuts. His vision seemed to have shifted slightly before he realized his Sharingan must have activated. He immediately took advantage of that by pulling out his own throwing weapons and counter attacking. He would throw a single kunai or shuriken and follow it up as soon as he saw his opponents move. His eyes would clue him in as to how the person was going to dodge and he inflicted more damage.

* * *

Naruto was moving as fast as he could. He just slashed and cut every Sand ninja he could find. Sakura was following close behind on his left and calling out targets. Their months of training together in the Remedial classes were paying dividends. As no one else would work with them, they had often needed to fight as a pair. They were tired after running all day but they forced chakra into their arms and legs to compensate for fatigue and increase their speed.

Neither one stood still long enough to allow the Sand forces to focus a long range jutsu at them. The Sand ninja were not familiar with the trees and fighting in them was another advantage the pair used. The obstacle course made a lot more sense to the Leaf ninja now. It simulated maneuvering in a forest canopy and now both took advantage of that learned skill.

Sakura was being the brains of the team in their attack. She would attack from behind on any Sand ninja that Naruto could not take down quickly. They had a huge disadvantage because of their lack of experience but the terrain and darkness helped. Naruto would engage close and get the enemy tied up in a clinch while Sakura would move up from behind and hamstring the opponent. Once an enemy was taken down, Naruto or Sakura would swipe their enemy's weapons pack to replenish their own. They kept after the solo ninja and lightly wounded ones as much as possible until Naruto was pierced by a tanto in the stomach.

Sakura launched a wave of kunai and shuriken at the enemy ninja to force them away from Naruto. The man was about to jump away when Naruto grabbed his leg and held him in place. The man didn't have time to defend as a kunai took out his eye. He fell down to the forest floor screaming.

Naruto pulled the tanto from his side and held his hand over the wound. The blood was already slowing as he felt the chakra of his tenant trying to heal his body. The lower his own got the more he was aware of the demon's. His anger had been growing as the fight dragged on but he only used it to keep going. Sakura signaled to Kakashi that Naruto was badly wounded and she was getting low on chakra.

* * *

Kakashi was already getting tired. He needed to uncover his implanted Sharingan early in the fight and the drain was getting to him. He acknowledged Sakura's hand signs. They would need to break contact soon and find a place to hole up and rest. He made fewer jutsu and had to get into close combat as the darkness fell. The wounded Sand ninja around them were moaning in pain. The plan to wound as many as possible could backfire on them but with enough casualties for the unwounded to attend to they should be able to get away.

He was about to signal to Naruto and Sakura to head in his direction when he saw something he was afraid might happen. Another column of Sand ninja had seen the explosion and come to investigate. The arrival split the pairs of Leaf ninja and forced them to choose; escape separately or die trying to get together. Kakashi signaled to Sakura, break contact and head north. He and Sasuke would head east and draw as many of the enemy as they could.

The pairs then broke off in separate directions. The jonin in charge of the new column sent several squads after each pair while the rest of his forces did search and rescue.

* * *

The shadow clone raced through the forest to the garrison town. He flinched as he heard the explosion behind him. The clone covered the last mile and sprinted up to the building calling out to the guard before stopping a short distance away so he could be recognized.

The garrison sergeant looked out of his window and frowned. The explosion they had heard was faint but the guard on duty had called him from dinner to report it. He recognized Kakashi from that afternoon and rushed outside.

"Sir, what is it?" he asked.

"Invasion," the shadow clone informed him. "Those rumors you heard about the Sand being mobilized were true. They are invading the Fire Country to go after Konoha. My team is fighting some right now and I need you to use your horses to get an alert to the Legions, the Daimyo and Konoha."

The sergeant understood and got his men moving. The discipline the sergeant had kept his men under paid off. Within ten minutes, a half dozen horses rode away into the night.

* * *

Off to the north, a white haired man had been making good time towards Konoha. He was very late in returning to the Fire Country after a request for some information by the Hokage had kept him busy. The Sand had been stopping everyone associated with the Leaf from leaving. He had been forced to sneak past them. He saw the flash of light from the initial explosion followed by more. With the information he already had, this was only a confirmation. War was coming.

New flashes of light were moving slowly in his direction. The low rumbles of the initial blasts were finally reaching him. 'That had to be some high powered tags to be heard this far away. On the top of a line of small hills so the sight of the blast would be seen further off too. That means a jonin or a really smart chunin over there.' He bit his thumb and went through a summoning jutsu. When the chakra smoke cleared a large rust colored toad sat before him.

"What do you need, Jiraiya-sama?" the toad asked.

"I need for you to head for Konoha as quickly as you can. Inform the Hokage that my previous message was correct. We have been betrayed. I have seen a battle to my south so someone must have stumbled over the Sand army and is trying to do something about it," Jiraiya said in a serious voice.

* * *

Naruto dodged another exploding tag that came from behind Sakura and him. The tree shrapnel missed him this time. He made sure to keep himself between the teams pursuing them and Sakura. Since he was hurt it made sense that if someone could get away it would be the healthy person. He chuckled that if he had said that out loud Sakura would have smacked him on the shoulder.

'At least she stopped hitting me on the head,' he thought as he forced himself to move out of range of another explosion. 'Dang these Sand guys are not giving up.'

The trees opened up ahead. 'A farmstead,' he realized. 'Not a good time to be losing cover.'

Sakura rushed to the tree line and quickly scanned the fields. The moon was near full so there was plenty of light in the open. No enemies in sight. She pulled out her last exploding tag and set it in an obvious place on a large tree. 'No sense in being subtle right now,' the girl thought. She pumped all the chakra she could spare into it and jumped down as Naruto came running out of the trees and landed badly on the ground.

He rolled and was back on his feet in moments as the pair fled across the open fields. They left behind a trail in the sandy soil because they only used enough chakra in their steps to ensure traction. Dirt flew up behind them but they sped through the soft dirt of the fields as if sprinting down a concrete sidewalk.

The tag exploded behind them and made the teams pursuing them pause while they made sure traps were not waiting as they went around the blast. Precious seconds that allowed the fleeing pair make it to the far side of the fields and disappeared into the trees.

* * *

Sasuke and Kakashi dropped down to a road and fled at their top speed. They had enough of a head start on the enemy that they should be able to break contact with that group. The teammates found a place in some bushes near the road to hide and catch their breath. The Sand would be dealing with too many wounded to pursue closely. Kakashi smiled when his shadow clone self dispelled and the memories came to him.

"The soldiers got an alert moving. I just hope the enemy is not watching the roads for such things already," he told Sasuke. "We need to find a place to rest for a few hours."

"What about Sakura and Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"Once the enemy separated us, there was not much we could do except hope they got away. Naruto got hurt but should be fine if they can break contact," Kakashi replied.

"And if they can't?"

"Then they might not survive," was all Kakashi said with a rough tone in his voice. There was a long pause before he spoke again. "I know it is harsh but that is also a part of being a ninja, Sasuke. Sometimes we kill them, sometimes they kill us. People die in war. Friends die even if you don't want them to. The best you can do is make sure their sacrifice is not in vain. That is something I forgot a long time ago and only now remembering that lesson."

Sasuke just nodded. "My Sharingan activated during the battle. Right now, for some reason I don't understand, it doesn't seem as important as it did at that moment."

Kakashi and Sasuke sat in silence for about ten more minutes before Kakashi signaled for them to get moving once more. Sasuke was actually glad now that Kakashi had made him get into better shape over the past few weeks. His second wind might not last too long. But if he had tried this back before joining the team, he would not have gotten this far. Kakashi turned them so their course was heading north in the hope of being able to track down the rest of their team.

* * *

Naruto grunted as a bad landing on a branch jarred his wound. Tree running with a stab wound in your stomach was not fun at all. He could feel the wound pulling back open each time he jumped. If he was anyone else he certainly would have been dead by now. The healing he had always taken for granted was working overtime today. He managed to swallow a blood pill early on so he was not too worried in that respect. The red haze in his vision was from something besides blood loss. He should have been out of chakra already but here he was still pushing onwards.

Sakura was not in much better shape. The pair had to change direction two times already to keep from being caught by enemy ninja. All she had to steer them by now was occasional sightings of the moon through the trees. She led. Naruto just followed as if attached to her. She knew he was in pain but neither one could stop. His blood was giving away their position every time. Sand trackers would find the scent and follow them. She decided he would not go down alone if it came to that.

She needed to get them down from the trees. The smallest track would be enough but the near virgin forest had few ground trails in it. Animal trails wound around too much for the ninja. A healthy Konoha ninja had no trouble tree running but Naruto was not healthy right now. Sakura called for a break while she climbed higher in the trees to reorient herself.

Naruto leaned heavily against the bole of the huge tree. He just closed his eyes and breathed slowly and deeply to try to catch his breath. Just ten minutes of rest and he could run for another hour. But they didn't have ten minutes. Each break cut down on the lead the last trap had gotten them.

Sakura growled in frustration. They were being forced to travel northwest again. Once they had gotten past the farmstead they ran into the rear guard of a third column of Sand ninja. Teams of the new column had come after them. The Sand ninja kept forcing them to move faster than they had previously and drained both Leaf ninja faster than they could recover chakra. The pair had been forced to use traps and ambushes to slow the Sand. The pursuit was relentless and served only to push them further from their ultimate destination. The pink haired teen contemplated her last food pill but decided to wait to have it until she could not travel anymore or was brought to battle. She wondered if Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke had gotten away.

Naruto had counted four minutes already when he forced himself up on his feet. He had not felt this tired since down in Root. He looked up to see Sakura return only to have her gasp in the darkness.

"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" Naruto said in a quiet voice.

"Naruto, your eyes are glowing red right now," she said even more quietly.

"Really?" he replied. I can't see them so I didn't know that. I'm seeing a light red haze over my vision."

"What does that mean, Naruto? You never had red eyes before."

"I have an idea of why but I'll have to tell you later. I can hear them getting closer," the blonde said to distract his partner.

"You sure you can make it, Naruto?" came a worried question he didn't want to consider.

"I have to make it. I'm going to be Hokage one day, right? I have to get through this to do that" he said with a fake grin.

He stood freely and the pair leapt off the branch into the night. Three minutes later, a squad of Sand ninja landed on that very branch.

* * *

A horseman rode down the road at night. He had already alerted two garrisons and was told there was a Konoha patrol in the region. He headed down the trail towards the town the caravans stopped at and hoped no one lay in wait.

* * *

More than an hour later, Naruto and Sakura had the next opening in the trees they wanted but not in the way they had hoped. They had come across the Kyuubi Trail. 'This leads right to the walls of Konoha,' she realized. 'We could be home in a few hours following this.'

The Kyuubi Trail was a line of devastation in the forests surrounding Konoha. It was the path the Kyuubi had taken from its summoning point to the walls of Konoha itself. Everyone avoided it whenever possible because nothing would grow there. Residual energy pocketed and lay dormant as traps for the unwary. Minor oni flocked to the Trail to absorb the energy but never stayed too long. Even they would get afraid of what might happen if they stayed. The dead trunks of once mighty trees were all that remained on the Trail.

Sakura had stopped on the edge of the Trail and caught Naruto as he almost fell out of the tree. Naruto had passed out. 'There goes my plan to simply run down the Trail to Konoha.' She lifted her teammate up onto her back. She didn't want to leave him behind. There were shouts behind her from their pursuers. The half mile to the other side might as well have been a hundred now. They would not get across without being caught. Sakura jumped to the ground. She knelt down in the bushes on the edge of the Trail for a moment then headed out into the moonlit skeletal trees amid dust the breeze kicked up.

She had made it about a third of the way across when the Sand ninja caught up. At least twenty phased in around Sakura using a shunshin jutsu. She looked for a possible escape but saw none. She reached down and swiftly ate her last food pill knowing she might not survive the next few minutes

"My turn to protect you, Naruto," she said. After she set him down on the ground leaning on a tree, Sakura leapt to attack.

* * *

Next Chapter: The Stand of the Cherry Blossom

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**End Notes:  
**Ah, the evil cliffhanger. I tend to draw bits that I have seen in movies and TV as one liners or things to include in my story. I know it might be cheating but since they get an equal share to the non revenue, they should be happy. The 'no tickets' bit is from Indiana Jones. The last line by Sakura is a paraphrase I got from the movie Serenity when River rushes in to battle the Reavers to protect her wounded brother.

Sasuke got his Sharingan active. Kakashi and Sasuke are somewhere in the woods. Jiraiya had finally appeared and late as usual. The alert might be out but will it be soon enough to prevent an invasion?

Something is stirring in the hospital as well.

The Kyuubi Trail I got from the devastated region that the fight with Team 10 and Kakashi against Hidan and Kakuzu. I assumed that something serious had to have happened to leave a forest that barren and still have more full growth forest nearby where Shikamaru ambushed Hidan. So I had the path the Kyuubi traveled along be that devastation. It fits anyhow.

**Review Notes:  
**As far as the equivalent ranks the ninja get from the Legion. It is given as a courtesy, not a right. Soldiers would balk at having to take orders from someone outside their chain of command but would do it if the other person was of higher rank. It is much the same situation here. Anything a ninja asks of a Legionnaire would be taken as a 'suggestion' not an order. Of course while a jonin asking something of a sergeant would likely lead to compliance, the sergeant is not required to follow it. It would be wise of him to do it which is why the courtesy exists. That is why the courtesy ranks are on the low end of the officer and sergeant.

Sorry Pickle. I figured after a couple of weeks it was not a spoiler anymore.

A long thoughtful review on chapter 12 from RakeeshJ4. He has a lot of very good points. I still think the ultimate defense for not locking up Sasuke as being nuts is the fact that Guy is allowed to roam free and have a student. We could go back and forth on issues forever but I am not thinking that deeply into the psychology part of things, I am just trying to write an entertaining story. Suspension of disbelief is integral to any work of fiction and I hope that applies here as well.

The whole Team 8 and Ino/Gaara situations are going to have to be resolved separately from the main story. I am considering both a separate two or three chapter story and a flashback within the main story once the current arc is settled. I will decide on that soon.

Chapter Posted 07/02/09


	14. Stand of the Cherry Blossom

Yes, I have been gone for a while. Life Happens

**The Stand of the Cherry Blossom**

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* * *

_

Sakura had stopped on the edge of the Trail and caught Naruto as he almost fell out of the tree. Naruto had passed out. 'There goes my plan to simply run down the Trail to Konoha.' She lifted her teammate up onto her back. She didn't want to leave him behind. The half mile to the other side might as well have been a hundred now. They would not get across without being seen. Sakura jumped to the ground. She leaned down in the bushes on the edge of the Trail then headed out into the skeletal trees amid dust the breeze kicked up.

_She had made it about a third of the way across when the Sand ninja caught up. At least twenty phased in around Sakura using a shun-shin jutsu. She looked for a possible escape but saw none. She reached down and swiftly ate the last food pill knowing she might not survive the next few minutes_

'_My turn to protect you, Naruto,' she thought. After she set him down on the ground leaning on a tree, Sakura leapt to attack._

* * *

Sakura's attack took the squad she pounced on by surprise. Her last pair of kunai were gripped in her closed fists with the points extending out like she was holding trench knives. Her punch to the jaw of one was followed by a slight gurgle as the blade cut across the man's throat. She spun on her lead foot and a back roundhouse kick to the chest of another Sand ninja. The man fell trying to breathe with 4 broken ribs. The third man of the squad leaped back as dozens of kunai and shuriken descended on the pink haired girl.

The weapons impacted and blood flew out from a dozen points on her body. A slight puff of chakra smoke followed as the body changed from a pink haired Leaf ninja to a sandy haired Sand genin. The jonin of the group all realized immediately what happened. "Kawarmi!" one yelled. A cry of pain sounded off to one side as another genin fell forward with a kunai embedded in the back of his head. Sakura leapt off into the darkness carrying the boy's weapons pouches as wind jutsu were hurled in her direction.

One of the Sand chunin present knelt next to the still form of Naruto and poked him with a kunai. The blonde boy vanished in smoke as a bundle of branches appeared in his place.

"The body was a fake. She made some kind of clone," he called out.

Kunai rained down on the group. Captured explosive tags detonated in their midst and wounded another six Sand ninja.

The invaders scattered into the shadows as clouds slid over the moon.

* * *

Jiraiya cursed at the overgrown forest he was trying to get through tripped him up once more. His larger summons could not maneuver in the old growth forest so he did without for now. Few people came this way anymore due to the nearby Kyuubi Trail. Distant explosions came much less frequently now but were louder. He knew he was getting closer.

* * *

Minutes passed as the Sand ninja reformed into teams. Occasional shouts and pained breathing by the wounded were the only sounds heard.

Sakura clung to the bottom of a skeletal branch with kunai ready. She had moved further out in the Kyuubi Trail. A dim red glow from pool of chakra glowed softly nearby. It was not bright enough to be seen in daylight but even after more than a dozen years the demonic chakra was intact. She could see the remains of a body in the center of the mass. The corpse was one that the Konoha search teams had missed and was serving as a focus for the demonic chakra. She took chunk of dead bark her kunai had dislodged and tossed it to the ground near the glow. From the darkness, a squad of Sand ninja pounced only to find a kunai with an exploding tag once more. One died and another was wounded in the blast. The yokai added to the explosion and made the fireball look red instead of yellow. The redness seemed to flow away from the explosion toward the edge of the trail.

Sakura felt something cut her leg and she lost focus of the chakra she was using. She fell toward the ground. A jonin was waiting as she could do nothing to stop herself. 'The explosion must have lit up my position' was her last thought as his fist impacted on her face.

* * *

Sakura woke in pain. Her arms were bound behind her back with the wrists pulled up toward her shoulder. A slight tug almost choked her as a rope around her neck tightened. She painfully forced her arms back to the original position and was able to breathe once more. She tried to move a leg only to find them bound securely. 'Ninja rope,' she thought. 'It's keeping my limbs from getting any chakra flow. No escape jutsu will work on these.' A blindfold kept her from seeing anything.

"You are not going nowhere, Leaf ninja," a gruff voice. "Answer my questions and you will die without further pain."

Sakura just lay there quietly until the man spoke once more. "Sit her up," he commanded.

Unseen hands pulled her up to her knees and made her balance on them. She fought to get her arms back into a position where she could breathe until someone behind her took hold of them and lifted. Sakura grunted in pain but greedily sucked in air. The man behind her removed the rope from her throat so she would be able to speak to them.

"You and your team have led us on a merry chase this evening. It is a shame actually. It will be for nothing. Konoha will fall tomorrow and there will be nothing left but ashes. So our Kazekage has decreed," the jonin said smugly.

Sakura rasped out a reply. "And you are telling a lowly genin this why?"

The jonin chuckled. "You are no genin, girl. Do not insult my men by claiming otherwise."

"Haruno Sakura, genin of Konohakagure, pleased to meet you," Sakura said in the jauntiest tone she could manage. Even that came out in a dull tone. She knew she was going to die so she might as well die spitting in their eye instead of begging. The backhand fist that hit her face felt like it broke something. Her balance was lost and she flopped to one side. If not for the person holding her arms she would have fallen over. She spat out some blood and waited.

There was more pain waiting as she was put back on her knees.

* * *

Naruto slowly stirred and cracked open his eyes. The pain in his stomach was greatly reduced and his chakra seemed to be replenishing. The red haze over his vision had faded as well.

His blue eyes focused on the brush covering his body as he tried to listen. He must have passed out and been hidden. Nearby sounds of searching slowly grew closer as he tried to focus. His hand slid to his wound and found that it was scabbed over and nearly closed; one small plus about being the container of the Kyuubi. He knew that it was his continued running after being wounded that had kept it open. He had felt it trying to heal for hours but each jarring leap had torn it open once more. He was out of food pills and the blood pill he had taken earlier was the only one from his first aid kit. A girl's scream of pain dimly reached his ears as he started to get himself out from under the camouflage of brush over him.

* * *

Sakura's lungs burned as her screams echoed in the darkness. The jonin had made several cuts into her shoulder with a kunai before the pain made her cry out. Tears streamed down her face as she could no longer keep detached from it.

"Are you ready to start answering my question little girl? How many in your squad and where are they? Did you want your village of our approaching forces?" the jonin asked.

"Haruno Sakura, genin of Kono-"

The blade cut another groove into her shoulder. Sakura screamed.

"So far I have been kind child. Any more resistance and I begin to cut off parts," he said in a low voice.

Sakura was in too much pain to do anything else. "One squad," she whispered. "I don't know where the others are. We got separated hours ago."

"Where is your partner? The one who's blood allowed us to follow you."

"I – I don't know. I hid him when he collapsed and faked having him with me. Miles ago," she muttered in a husky tone as her throat was closing from her screams having made her hoarse.

"Did you warn your village?" the jonin pressed.

"Sensei's job. He just told us to break contact and try to head back to village," Sakura replied.

The jonin was unsure of what to do. This pair had stumbled into the back of his column and started the chase. Apparently they had broken contact once but bad luck had gotten them in the current situation. His column leader had sent his squads to deal with the pair. Four dead and three too wounded to continue for a lone genin was a bad tradeoff. If this was the quality of a Konoha genin what would the chunin and jonin be like? Their elites were nothing special and too few to play a significant part in the coming battle. He would be late for it now anyhow. Three hours wasted chasing down the enemy. He sighed. If this girl had been a few years older, he was no pedophile after all. Well, that couldn't be helped.

"We're done here," he spoke finally. He gestured to the chunin behind the pink haired girl. The older teen nodded and pulled back Sakura's head to expose her throat to his blade.

The moon peeked out from behind the clouds and illuminated the area in a pale white light. The girl's pink hair seemed to glow as the moonlight touched it.

"SAKURA-CHAN!" came the shout from the darkness.

* * *

Naruto had managed to get out of the brush without alerting the people searching the area. He made his way out into the barren skeletal trees trying not to stir up the dust as he moved. His side still hurt but he found after the short rest that moving was no longer a problem. He headed off in the direction he could hear the screams coming from. He wanted to run to Sakura but he knew that he was greatly outnumbered and getting caught now would be bad for both of them. His heart pounded and his will slackened with each cry and whimper from his teammate.

He closed in to see the man interrogating Sakura gesture to the man behind her with a throat cutting motion. The moon peeked out from behind the clouds and illuminated the area in a pale white light. The girl's pink hair seemed to glow as the baleful light touched it.

He could clearly see the blood on Sakura's face and the light also reflected off the blood staining her shirt. He could no longer hold back his rage. The red haze over his vision returned even as his vision grew sharper in the darkness. He just wanted to destroy these men. Kill them all! They hurt his Sakura-chan and they had to pay!

"SAKURA-CHAN!" he yelled as red power exploded from his body.

* * *

The jonin turned to see a young teen with blonde hair. The thing that made him pause was the boy's eyes. They glowed. They were red and had slit pupils just before a blast of crimson energy surrounded the boy. Tendrils of red lightning reached up from points on the ground hundreds of yards around him and joined in the swirling light. The energy swirled around the boy and seemed to take the shape of a kitsune's head. The energy wrapped around the boy like a cloak as he raced forward.

The chunin about to kill the girl whimpered and fled. The girl collapsed to the ground in a puff of dust. The last thought of the jonin was 'He's like Gaara-sama.'

* * *

In Konoha, hundreds of sleeping people awoke with a feeling of dread. The current and former ninja of the Leaf that had faced the Kyuubi shuddered as they were startled from sleep. Guards on the wall facing the Kyuubi Trail reported a blood red light rising in the distance before it faded from view once more. The now wide awake Hokage ordered additional guards to the walls and briefly thought of postponing the Chunin Exam finals the following day. The feeling faded over the next few minutes as the chakra he sensed vanished once more.

'What happened that you needed to tap into the Kyuubi chakra, Naruto?' he thought. He called over his guards to order an alert to the reserves and town militia to be on extra alert for the Exams. There would be several dozen regional lords and a good portion to the Fire Daimyo's court in attendance tomorrow. He would not take any chances on something happening. Canceling the Exams just hours ahead of time would be seen as a weakness he could not afford for Konoha right now.

Sarutobi sighed as he turned to get dressed. The first hints of dawn were appearing in the eastern sky. He had a long day ahead of him.

* * *

Naruto's red eyes scanned the immediate area. Other than the fleeing chunin that had dropped Sakura there was no one else within fifty yards. He took a glance down at the body of the jonin but felt nothing. His hand had somehow changed and he had claws instead of fingernails now. Blood dripped from his fingers but he didn't care right now. The aura around him made him feel powerful.

A whimper of pain from Sakura brought him out of his rage. Her green eyes stared at him in wonder and a small amount of fear. Naruto took the jonin's kunai and cut the ropes holding Sakura's arms. The pink haired girl painfully moved her arms into a comfortable position in front of her.

She began to ask "Naruto, how… " but he cut her off with a glance.

"Later," was all he said as he watched the retreating Sand ninja gather about one hundred yards away. Sakura tried to get up but her legs were not able to support her weight yet. Pins and needles from blood and chakra returning to her limbs made her hiss in pain. Motion from the Sand ninja fanning out and closing in once more brought him back to full alert. Naruto glanced down at Sakura. Before she could be ready to fight again, they would be overrun.

Naruto's night vision was incredible at the moment. A part of him wanted to fight but he realized he was still at the bottom edge of his strength and Sakura could no longer fight or protect herself. He would be forced to protect her from harm. The classes on tactics always said that a single ninja trying to protect a fixed point when outnumbered would fail. It grated on his ego but he scooped up Sakura and fled down the Trail toward Konoha. Three squads of Sand ninja fell into pursuit but they quickly halted under orders and fear of that strange red chakra.

The red chakra surrounding Naruto stung the bare skin of Sakura's neck and face but she said nothing. She looked ahead as the moonlight gave the skeletal trees a strange and eerie feeling. Flashes of red light glowed in Naruto's wake as he ran. The girl could see red chakra trailing behind them. Lightning bolts of red chakra rose from the charred ground and struck the mass as it slowly seemed to form a comet-like tail behind him. Putting off her thoughts, she focused on getting her arms and legs working properly once more. Wiggling her fingers and pointing and flexing her toes seemed to help slightly.

The pair had barely gone a mile when they were attacked once more. The clouds slid in front of the moon once more cutting off most of Naruto's vision but he could still see better than normal in the darkness. He missed a simple tripwire sprung up from ambush by a pair of jonin who had gotten in front of them. Naruto heaved Sakura into the air as he rolled with his fall. She in turn made an awkward landing but was not injured any further.

Naruto was breathing heavily and seemed about to collapse once more. The red aura about him was slowly fading now that he was stopped. 'Still out of chakra and this red stuff s making me sick,' he thought. Occasional flashes of chakra seemed to feed it from the surrounding area. It would brighten some then fade again. Sakura backed closer to Naruto as the two jonin closed in on the exhausted pair.

Explosions blinded the genin as tags detonated between the pairs. "That is far enough!" called out a voice.

There was a crashing of dead branches as something huge impacted the ground. The moon slid out from behind a cloud again to light up a house sized toad. "Why are allies attacking allies in the middle of the night?" the voice boomed out from the man standing on the toad's head. There was a mass of white hair trailing behind him and a large scroll hung over the tail end of it. Naruto stood panting as he tried to figure out what was going to happen next.

The pair of Sand jonin both prepared to attack when the toad's tongue lashed out and knocked both out. The toad swallowed both men and vanished as the man gave the amphibian some quiet orders. Naruto and Sakura both collapsed once the white haired man turned to face them.

"Darn, I could not even give my entrance dance to these two. That is a shame because it is so impressive," Jiraiya groused out loud as the moonlight lit his face. He knelt next to the fallen teens and quickly checked their injuries. Then he made a few hand signs and his hand glowed green. He ran it back and forth over Sakura before holding it over her shoulder. The cuts closed up and vanished with only pale skin to show they had even existed. He then took care of the cuts on her mouth and face however the bruising remained intact although faded.

'I'm not as good as Tsunade but I am handy at the small stuff like cuts,' Jiraiya thought as he turned to Naruto. 'He is as exhausted as the girl is. It had to be a serious thing for him to be drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra. Those Sand jonin were trying to kill these kids. This has to tie in to what I found in the Wind Country.' His attempts to wake the teens normally were in vain as neither one stirred during his exam. 'Chakra depletion and food pill overdoses on both of them. They are going to sleep for hours at least. I had better get back on my way to Konoha.

Jiraiya summoned a new toad and lifted the teens onto the back of it before joining them. 'It will already be four or five hours before we get to Konoha unless I summon Gamabunta but I think that he would be a bit put out to play taxi. I might need him later as well.'

* * *

The Parade of Daimyos in their ceremonial ox drawn carriages had finished when a rider on a sweat caked horse arrived at the gates of Konoha. The man's original horse had been left behind long before. This was the rider's fourth horse of the night. Other riders had taken alerts to Legion barracks along his line of travel. The Low Sergeant knew something about ninja and force estimates. If the estimated number of ninja truly were coming after Konoha, there was little the Legion could do to stop it at this point. The soldiers could harass the Sand forces but in a stand up fight the ninja with their jutsu would devastate the battlefield and win against a large force of normal soldiers. Konoha would have to survive without direct help. At least the Low Sergeant was glad he got his warning through.

Sarutobi frowned at the message the ANBU had delivered. He hated having to miss the tournament but a shadow clone should fill in nicely. It was not like he would be called upon to fight inside the walls of Konoha. He thought about it further. 'If the Sand forces were going to attack, why would the Kazekage himself be sitting in the stadium where he could be taken hostage?' he pondered.

It appeared at first consideration that the man was overconfident to the point of arrogance. But that was nothing like the Kazekage Sarutobi had dealt for over a decade. He had to be an imposter. Sarutobi knew something would happen today. He began issuing orders to the forces under his command.

* * *

The Sand general was poised a mile outside the walls of Konoha. Once the signal was given his force would proceed with its assault. Another force of ninja from Sound village would attack on the far side of the Leaf. They were to meet at the stadium having killed everyone in their path. Then they would rescue Gaara if he was awake or kill him if he was helpless.

His only concern was the Leaf ninja three separate columns had encountered. All reported that contacts had been eliminated but the casualties his own forces suffered had been steep. Few dead but many wounded had cut his attack strength by nearly 15 percent. Each wounded ninja needed a second to remove them to a safe location. The escorting ninja would be available later on but not for the first strike.

* * *

Kakashi led Sasuke on a northwestern course. There were too many groups of Sand ninja to get through to Konoha directly so Kakashi decided to track his missing teammates. Now that dawn had arrived, the pair had detected the often faint trail of their missing teammates. Every five miles or so, the remains of an ambush were spotted and they needed to reacquire the trail.

"How did they get so far on their own, Kakashi?" Sasuke grumbled. "Both of them were washouts and Naruto had a stab wound."

"You keep judging them based on you Academy days, Sasuke. They have already proven they have greatly improved since then. Stop deluding yourself. They got stronger because they put in the effort to get stronger. Naruto has a way of bringing out the best in people and it worked with Sakura. She got over her fan girl attitude and realized how much more she could be by working for it. Naruto only needed someone to put things in a simpler form. Basic military training is just that. Simple single steps to achieve a larger whole."

"Hn, so he is not that bright and needed an idiot's guide to learn to be a good ninja," Sasuke sneered as he kept running.

Kakashi stopped to rest for a few minutes. He needed to nip this quickly before Sasuke angered even him. "Sasuke," he said sternly, "Naruto is neither an idiot nor slow. He was simply never taught properly. Think about how often he was even allowed to participate in class. To my own shame I allowed some of the things that happened to him. He was intentionally taught taijutsu that would have left him dead against a skilled opponent. His ninjutsu teacher tried to teach him a suicide jutsu instead of the replacement jutsu. He has too much chakra and not enough control to even think about most genjutsu. That he was able to overcome those and many more obstacles to get as far as he has gotten is a clue that he had the potential to be so much more than he is now."

"You keep claiming that people are holding you back but the one person who truly can claim that is Naruto. Even so, he never complains and keeps trying his best. You were and still are given more than ample opportunities to excel but you just keep saying you are being held back. The only thing holding you back is your own selfish attitude. If you had Naruto's work ethic, you would already be a chunin. Instead you piss and moan about your brother killing your family and how you need more power to kill him."

"If you truly wish to kill him, you need to learn that the only way to reach his level is to walk the same path to strength that Itachi did. I watched him grow, Sasuke. HE has the same work ethic that Naruto does. Every bit of his strength, he got through sweat and pain and blood. He rarely used his Sharingan to gain skills. Because he knew even at age 8 that he would not understand the best way to use that strength simply by copying it. He knew that simple power was no replacement for earned skill."

"Sasuke, until you learn the difference between power and skill, then nothing anyone teaches you will ever be enough." Kakashi paused in his rant to look at the sun. "We need to get moving. We rested here long enough." After that, Kakashi leapt into motion once more. Sasuke grumbled but followed. Kakashi had told him similar the first day together as a team. After the events of the previous night, some of what the man said was much clearer. He still had a lot to think about.

* * *

The first fight of the Chunin Exam had been exciting. The battle of Tenten and Zaku had ended dramatically. Tenten plugged the air passages in his arms with kunai from twenty yards away when the Sound genin was recharging his jutsu. He fell quickly after that.

The second fight was between Dosu and Lee. It was both brutal and swift. Dosu used his Melody Arm attack on Lee at close range. No one had seen such a thing before and it knocked out the spandex clad boy. Lee was rushed to the hospital with ruptured eardrums and internal bleeding.

The third fight was between Choji and Kankuro. Choji proved to be no match for the puppetry and poisons of Kankuro. Once he was poisoned, Choji gave up.

The fourth fight was between Neji and Shikamaru. Neji tried to intimidate Shikamaru with a talk on fate and destiny but Shikamaru got bored and simply fell asleep standing up. Hayate called the match after that. The crowd laughed at Neji to his embarrassment.

The shadow clone of Sarutobi kept talking to the Kazekage in a pleasant tone. The clone was puzzled that the man seemed uninterested in the performance of Kankuro and asked about where Uchiha Sasuke was. All the line of discussion did was to prove to Sarutobi that this indeed was not the Kazekage. The clone excused himself to make a short visit to the restroom.

Once in the restroom, the shadow clone summoned an additional one that immediately dispelled itself so everything it had learned so far today would be relayed to Sarutobi. The ANBU guard with him handed the clone a special food pill to restore its energy and cohesion for several more hours. Then the clone returned to the observation box faking a slight limp.

"Ah, the penalties of age, Kazekage-dono. I pulled something playing with the grandson last week," the clone said.

"You really should retire, Hokage-dono. You are not a young man any longer," the Kazekage said in a silky soft voice.

"Oh, there are still a few more fights left in this old frame of mine," Sarutobi chuckled.

The first semifinal fight was between Tenten and Kankuro. Tenten's weapon skills proved to be too much for Kankuro to defend against with a single puppet. Kankuro tried for the quick win by hurling the puppet in her direction instead of using it for defense. She managed to attack both the puppet and him simultaneously with her Twin Rising Dragons technique. Without the puppet close to him, Kankuro could not protect himself from the barrage of weapons. Hayate stopped the fight after that as medics rushed to stop the bleeding.

The second semifinal match was about to begin when there was a huge roar from the eastern wall of Konoha. A huge cloud billowed up and a three headed snake the size of the Hokage Tower appeared in the gap it had just created.

Konoha's Invasion had begun.

* * *

**End Notes:**

Yes, I keep the Invasion intact. I am a believer that smaller events within Konoha do not affect the larger world events directly. Orochimaru had spent considerable time and resources in staging the destruction of Konoha and that would not change with Naruto not graduating. This time Konoha is more prepared for it and the outcome is highly in doubt for the attackers. Naruto and Sakura have been rescued but are down and out. Kakashi and Sasuke are out in the wild somewhere.

In this story when Naruto is using the Kyuubi chakra or his own personal reserves are low, his eyes tend to start to glow red; showing the greater proportion of the demon's chakra in his system.

Personal Notes:

I am in the process of writing up a side story for Captured. It revolves around the events of the Chunin Exam and the fates of Team 8, Ino and Gaara during the month between the preliminaries and the finals.

Hopefully, I can take less time to get more chapters out but I will finish my stories to a natural stopping point. I might not be able to get as much time to write in the future and I do not want to leave unfinish stories.

Posted 09/18/09


	15. The Invasion that Wasn't

Author Notes: Yes, it has been a while. Life comes first. More on this in the Personal Notes further down.

**

* * *

**

The Invasion that Wasn't

* * *

Kakashi and Sasuke had only minor difficulty following the trail of Naruto and Sakura. The trail itself was easy to follow. The difficulty lay in the number of Sand ninja wounded being helped along by comrades. Already the pair had to dodge a dozen wounded with their escort helping them along. During each detour, Sasuke fumed about how competent the pair of dropouts had become. Even he had to admit they had some skill at this point. How far behind had he fallen for them to have gotten so good? Being told off by Kakashi had not helped his situation. His pride had taken a pounding during that but he couldn't think of a single retort to anything Kakashi had said because it was all true.

Kakashi noticed the pensive look on Sasuke's face in the early morning light. The night had been hard on both of them. Sasuke learning he was not as good as he thought he was turned out to be a real eye opener for the teen. The battles and being awake for over twenty four hours clouded the mind and dampened any self delusions. Kakashi had been faced with his own demons once more but this time he faced them. He did not like the idea but he accepted that Naruto and Sakura could be dead right now. For less than two months he had been their official jonin sensei but he realized he did find them special. They reminded him so much of Obito and Rin that it hurt. But for once, it was a good pain. He had squandered over a dozen years just existing because he could not move on. The genin had taught him a lot in the few weeks he had known them. He realized standing in front of a monument grieving lost friends _dishonored_ those friends. The best way to honor the life his lost friends and teacher had given him was to live it.

The pair stopped at one more ambush site and noticed a larger than normal group of Sand ninja ahead. There were more wounded in this group than untouched ones. Kakashi signaled for Sasuke to move off to one side while he watched them. A few of the Sand ninja seemed in the edge of panic. Kakashi could tell even from a distance that they had seen something terrible. The feeling he had earlier of the Kyuubi chakra made sense now. They had run down Naruto and Sakura and he had unleashed the power of the tailed beast at them.

The jonin used hand gestures to signal Sasuke to move around the group of Sand ninja and continue north. Shortly after the encounter, the pair came up to the Kyuubi Trail. Sasuke just looked at the swath of dead forest stretching out a half mile in front of him and to the horizon on either side.

"Whoa," he muttered under his breath.

Kakashi nodded and replied. "Whoa indeed. This is the path the tailed beast Kyuubi no Yoko took thirteen years ago on its way to Konoha. The land along this path was poisoned by its chakra. The devastation doesn't spread but residual chakra in the area keeps new growth from filling it in."

The man pointed off to one side. "There. Signs of a recent battle," he said.

The pair investigated the area while Kakashi used his training with ANBU to quickly track the flow of the battle. He frowned seeing the bloody rope but he was glad it had been cut. That meant the person who had been captive had been freed. He determined the freed person was being carried toward Konoha. The tracks took on a strange look but they were easy enough to follow. They were getting closer.

Minutes later, the final battle site was found. Kakashi was shocked by the large imprint on the dusty ground. It could only have been a large summons.

"What's wrong," Sasuke asked.

"They were rescued. It appears that the Sannin, Jiraiya the Toad Sage was here and found our missing duo. He would be heading back to Konoha. We should be doing that as well."

* * *

An enormous three headed snake appeared in the gap it had created in the wall of Konoha. Konoha ninja fled from the breech as they were outnumbered by the flood of Sound ninja. Beyond the squad at that point in the wall, there were no Konoha casualties in the area.

* * *

The Kazekage grabbed the shadow clone of Sarutobi and jumped to the roof of the box the pair had been sitting in. He wanted the entire arena to see their leader die.

Four guards for the Kazekage jumped around the pair and in unison began making hand signs. In seconds, a barrier rose around the quartet. The man dressed in the blue robes of the Kazekage pressed a kunai to his throat to stall the ANBU while the barrier solidified.

"So, it has begun," the shadow clone of Sarutobi commented in an amused tone.

The 'Kazekage' looked down at Sarutobi with a confused grunt. "What do you mean, Hokage-dono?"

"You can drop the act, my wayward pupil. You are Orochimaru not the Kazekage," the clone stated.

A soft chuckle rose from the veiled man. "So what exactly gave it away, Sarutobi-sensei?"

"You are a lousy actor, Orochimaru," the clone said while smirking and lifting one hand into the air and with a few hand signs gave orders to the ANBU guards near the box. Two of the robed and masked guards ran off as two more moved closer to the corners of the energy wall.

"I had not thought you would use a chakra barrier wall, Orochimaru. But all this for an attack on me? A pity really. You had such potential as a child. Where did it all go wrong?" the clone asked.

"I should have been made Hokage, not that Namikaze whelp!" Orochimaru raged. "I had done everything right. I waited an extra decade for you to retire. My teammates both ran off while I stayed and I was next in line to be Hokage. Suddenly he was there and took the place I had earned!"

"You never had the people of Konoha in mind when you wanted the position. You wanted the power of the job, my errant pupil. Minato always wanted what was best for the ninja and people of Konoha in his heart. You had no feelings for others. You even tortured your own apprentice."

"I was trying to make better ninja, Sarutobi-sensei. I realized that all the techniques in the world are limited by one thing, the flesh we are all made of. It is the weakness. It needs improving before one can learn all there is to know."

"And yet, through all of your experiments and all of the deaths you have caused, all you have done is destroy your own humanity," the Sarutobi clone said bitterly. "But at least I can do something to atone for that. It ends today, Orochimaru."

"Oh? How do you propose to do that Sarutobi-sensei?" Orochimaru chuckled.

"Like this," the clone said just before he detonated.

* * *

At the walls of Konoha, waves of explosive tags streaked toward the giant three headed snake. The summons merely shrugged the explosions off. They stung the snake but the damage was too small to truly hurt the creature. The forces facing the snake were mainly military ninja of chunin rank. They followed their orders and continued to retreat from the enormous summon. The property damage was substantial but the civilians had been evacuated hours before. Heavier weapons were being brought up to deal with the snake.

* * *

Sarutobi waited near the western wall of Konoha. The single ANBU squad was being sent to aid the eastern front. He wanted to send more help to the eastern part of the village to combat the snake but he knew the balance of forces would be needed here in the west. His ANBU spies watching the staging camp for Sound had reported a majority of the ninja in that group were of low chunin level. Apparently, Orochimaru did not trust that many powerful ninja in his ranks without some form of control. The military ninja could easily handle a force of that ability. The summons had changed that.

The Sand forces closing in numbered in the hundreds if the report of the Legion sergeant was to be believed. The man had ridden all night and driven a half dozen horses to exhaustion getting to Konoha. If he had not had Kakashi's authentication codes, the man would never have gotten to report in. Kakashi's report indicated a well balanced force that included many jonin level enemies.

The aged leader cursed as the sounds of the explosion at the arena reached out over the village. His clone had been in an untenable situation and had taken the opening it had to deal with Orochimaru. His student could still be alive but he would be out of the picture for the moment.

"Hokage-sama!" cried out a guard at the wall. "We have a runner from the northwest station. He reports a large toad approaching the village down the Kyuubi Trial!"

'Jiraiya is here at last,' Sarutobi thought.

"Have Jiraiya brought to me the moment her arrives!" he replied.

The runner turned and headed back for the wall.

* * *

Jiraiya cursed once more as the toad took another long leap toward the hidden village of Konoha. The trip had taken longer than he had hoped. Both teens remained unconscious so the toad was forced to travel slower or risk them falling off. It was all the Toad Sage could do right now to keep the three passengers on the toad. With the last leap, the toad mounted the top of the wall. Several chunin waved at him to get the Sage's attention.

"Jiraiya-sama, Hokage-sama has asked that you report to him immediately. He is at a staging area in the southwestern part of the village," one called out.

Smoke had begun rising from the village in the last few miles of his journey. Now, Jiraiya looked out over the village to see the cause of what he had seen. The huge three headed snake was visible even miles away as he was from that battle. He had been traveling all night but he knew he couldn't rest yet.

"Chunin," he told the one who had talked to him. He pointed to unconscious, bruised and bloody pair of Naruto and Sakura. "Take these two to an aid station immediately. They had been in a fighting retreat from the Sand ninja most of the night. Make sure they are treated well. I will be checking on them later." Jiraiya glared at the chunin and released just a hint killing intent. He knew Naruto was not held in high regard by many in Konoha so a little threat might be useful.

"I will, Jiraiya-sama," said the now sweating chunin. The man watched as Jiraiya ran off to the east. The large toad standing on the wall remained and rumbled, "I shall carry these two. Show me where to go."

The chunin just nodded and pointed the way.

* * *

Orochimaru stirred and felt pain. 'Blast that old man!' he thought. 'A shadow clone this whole time and I never noticed it! Why did an old fossil like him have much reason to be practicing that jutsu?' He quickly noted one of his eyes was not opening. Growling with effort, the Snake Sannin tried to lever himself up to a sitting position only to find he had no arms. The seared stumps of his arms made Orochimaru realize how close he had come to dying just minutes before. Only the cauterized ends had kept him from bleeding out while he had been unconscious.

The roar of the giant three headed summon sounded out over Konoha. He almost chuckled until he realized it was a roar of pain, not triumph. The implosion of air was heard as the summon was dispersed.

'Even the battle snake was defeated? How is this possible? They were supposed to be unaware. I was supposed to be vic-.'

The ANBU squad captain stood back up to sheathe his ninja-to while holding the charred head of Orochimaru. His partner worked quickly and removed the body to the T&I morgue. The masked operative looked at the damage to the rooftop of that section of seating. Three of the four people who had made the barrier died in the explosion. The big kid had survived but he did not look like he would make it. Quickly he gave orders to his squad to recover the bodies. He noted with grim satisfaction that the ninja in attendance for the Finals had already secured the arena and the safety of the daimyos.

The rising cloud of chakra smoke in the east was all that remained of the giant snake. The military ninja had gotten heavy ballista from the armory then they concentrated their attacks on a single head. The heavy bolts easily pierced the snakes hide, wounding it badly and nearly blinding one head. With those wounds, the snake was in no mood to remain and die so it went back home.

The Sound ninja were quickly learning why Konoha ninja were considered some of the strongest in the region. Under attack now from the front and both flanks and lacking their main weapon, the Sound ninja were being cut down like wheat at harvest time. Few had the chance to surrender but those had did were not killed.

Fewer still managed to get outside of the walls.

* * *

Jiraiya arrived at the Hokage's location to see his teacher in full battle armor and a grim look on his face.

"Ah, Jiraiya-kun, you made it. You have fine timing for once," the aged leader said. He pointed down at a map of the village. "The presence of so many ANBU on the walls have delayed the attack by the Sand forces. Scouts report hundreds are out there with messengers moving between groups. Going with what we know about Sand tactics, there are roughly seven battle squadrons there."

Jiraiya looked grim now as well. "My information said they were coming with ten battle squadrons. During the night, I had noticed many explosions along the line they were supposed to be traveling along and came across a pair of your genin right around dawn; a pink haired girl and a blonde boy. They were both exhausted and wounded."

Sarutobi gave a look at his student who nodded quickly. Jiraiya had purposely feigned ignorance of who the boy was. "They are a part of Kakashi's squad. He had sent word with a Legion messenger late yesterday. The man arrived early this morning on horse driven near to death. They had found a missing patrol murdered and would try to intercept what they could and harass the Sand before breaking contact."

"There was no sign of Kakashi with them Sensei, but when I came across them, both Pinky and Blondie were standing up to a pair of Sand jonin. Both were badly wounded but still not giving up." Jiraiya had spoken in a slightly louder tone to insure the others in the area heard him.

Sarutobi smirked wryly. He felt the mood in the command post lighten just a bit. Jiraiya had always had the knack for leadership but he preferred remaining in the background. "Jiraiya-kun, come with me to look out at the Sand positions. They seem to be waiting for a signal of some kind but it has yet to be given. If we do this right, we can avoid a major battle here." Sarutobi walked out with his ANBU bodyguards and Jiraiya.

The Hokage pulled Jiraiya closer as they walked. "Now, the part were you not telling me for people to overhear? We felt the chakra of the Kyuubi early this morning."

Jiraiya frowned for a moment to order his thoughts. "I know. I was a lot closer to it than you folks here. Okay, late yesterday I was making my way here. The Sand borders had been sealed and I had a heck of a time getting out. That is why I'm so late. I noted a large explosion on a hill way off to the south of me. I sent a toad on ahead and I turned south to see what was going on."

Sarutobi broke in, "No toad arrived. It must have been intercepted."

Jiraiya nodded and continued. "I noticed more explosions during the night as I continued south and they kept moving north. I guess it was a fighting retreat by those two. A little before dawn, there was a massive release of the Kyuubi's chakra near the Kyuubi Trail. I headed directly for that. I finally arrived just as the kids were standing up to those jonin. I stopped and captured the jonin but the kids collapsed before I could ask them anything. If nothing else they had been moving on sheer willpower."

"At some point, the girl had been captured and tortured. I found a half dozen slices in her arm and shoulder consistent with that. I figure that set the boy off and he tapped into the demon's chakra." Jiraiya noticed they were coming up to the wall so he quickly finished up. "I used what medical jutsu I know to heal up the cuts. No sense in a cute teenager like that being badly scarred. She'll have enough problems from that experience already without those. I left orders for them to be taken to an aid station near where I got into town."

Sarutobi nodded once more. "Good. But no signs or Kakashi or the Uchiha boy, huh?"

"No, Sensei. No sign at all," the Toad Sage replied.

A messenger ran up shouting, "HOKAGE-SAMA!" The man stopped and bowed quickly. "Hokage-sama, the attack on the eastern part of the city has been broken. The Sound forces there are in full retreat. Also, ANBU reports from the arena say they have taken the head of Orochimaru!"

Sarutobi was prepared for the report of Orochimaru's death but he was still rocked by that statement. He had the memories of his clone up to the moment it detonated but he feared Orochimaru would have found a way to avoid death like he always had. In his memories flashed the nearly forty year old image of his new student. Some part of him would always see that child when he thought of his wayward pupil. But in his heart, he knew somewhere the man that the boy had become was a monster. It only took the memories of the lab underneath Konoha to make that clear.

"Hokage-sama?" The words of the messenger's voice broke into his thoughts. Sarutobi looked back up to see the man awaiting orders.

"Yes, very good. Relay orders to the jonin; push the Sound out of our village. Pursue only a quarter mile past the wall in singles. Full teams only beyond that point. Accept surrenders but no mercy if they resist," the Hokage said in a firm voice.

The messenger ran off to relay the orders.

Jiraiya looked at Sarutobi in shock.

The old man got a gleam in his eye that would have done the prankster in Naruto proud. "Exploding Shadow Clone. He had his arms wrapped around it with a kunai to its neck."

The Toad Sage looked at his teacher warily for a moment before nodding. "What about the Sand? If it was Orochimaru here; then what of their Kazekage?"

"That is what we are going to ask them," the Hokage replied.

* * *

Sand began creeping through the cracks and windows of the hospital toward the still forms of Ino and Gaara. The brain wave patterns remained in synch and Ino's were growing toward waking levels.

* * *

The general in charge of the Sand ninja was very worried now. The signal to attack had never come and the scouts reported battle on the eastern side of the Leaf. The wall they were facing was more than double the normal amount of defenders and many jonin and masked ANBU operatives could be seen alongside the chunin. This invasion and destruction of the Leaf had always seemed like a bad idea to him. The Sand might not be in the favor of the daimyo of the Land of Wind right now but they were still in better shape than they had been when the alliance with the Leaf had been signed. But the Kazekage had ordered it so he and his ninja had obeyed.

"Attention, Sand forces. This is the Hokage," came echoing out from the walls of Konoha. "Where is your Kazekage? The person who was here in Konoha was Orochimaru impersonating him. So, I ask again. Where is your Kazekage?"

The general looked at his captains in confusion. The Kazekage was not here? It had to be some kind of a trick by the Leaf. The Kazekage had come here. He was supposed to make the signal. Something was very wrong here. The Kazekage had said Gaara rampaging inside the Leaf would be the secondary signal to attack but that had not happened either.

"We have the three children of the Kazekage in custody right now. We have already destroyed the Sound forces attacking our eastern wall and our best ninja are waiting here on this one. We have no desire to destroy your force but we will do so if you attack. Send a representative to speak with us and we may be able to resolve this without further bloodshed."

The general's pride was taking a beating hearing the claims of the Hokage. He knew Gaara had remained behind in Konoha after the initial portion of the Chunin Exams, but the Kazekage had said if was to keep their brother company. Temari had arrived alongside their Daimyo. If he was captive as well, there was no way the Sand village could survive the Yondaime Kazekage's reign.

The general looked at his most senior captain, "We will send a representative. I will go and find out what is going on. If I have not sent back the correct message within the hour, then I am either dead or captive. Get everyone prepared to fall back to the rally point then return to Suna. No matter what, Suna must live on. Throwing our lives away against their wall will only destroy our homes and families in the end."

The general stood and adjusted his headband slightly before making his way towards the Leaf village.

* * *

Blue eyes cracked open to see the rippling fabric of a tent above him. Gasping, Naruto sat up only to have a pain in his gut cause him to lie back once more.

"Uzumaki-san, you must lie still. Your wounds have been tended to," a medic who came over said to him.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto whispered weakly. "Her arm and shoulder. Sand ninja cut her up badly."

"Those have been tended to as well, Uzumaki-san. Jiraiya of the Sannin brought you both back to Konoha. In fact, the being who brought you to us was insistent on waiting around to insure both of you were well cared for," the medic said with a forced smile. The underlying nervousness in the medic became plain as Naruto's vision cleared. The looming size of a battle toad behind the medic came into focus.

"Your belly wound seems to have been tended to prior to your arrival. You may have some internal damage from it so you should remain still," the medic continued in a more controlled voice.

Naruto looked to see Sakura lying nearby on a cot. Bandages were over most of her wounds but the bruising on her face was quite plain to see. Her shoulder had been cleaned of blood but the clear unmarked skin surprised Naruto.

"Someone used medical ninjutsu on her before she arrived, Uzumaki-san. It can heal with minimal scarring if done early enough after damage. I believe Jiraiya-sama did so when he rescued you both."

Naruto just nodded and lay back. His exhaustion claimed him once more and he slept.

* * *

The general of the Sand ninja went the great gate in the western wall of Konoha. It had been opened enough to let Sarutobi, Jiraiya and a pair of ANBU bodyguards out before being closed again. Sarutobi could see the man was middle aged but in good shape. His tan uniform stood out in the sunlight but could easily vanish in the shadows if needed.

"Where is your Kazekage?" Sarutobi sharply asked the man once he had approached.

"He should be here, Hokage-dono. As far as we know, he attended the Exam Finals," the general replied. "That you feel the need to ask for him gives me pause and is of grave concern to me."

"The man who was here in the clothes of your leader was Orochimaru, traitor and missing ninja from Konoha and leader of the new Sound village," Sarutobi growled out in barely controlled tones. "The Sound forces attacking our eastern walls have been routed and mostly destroyed. If you have broken your alliance and intend to attack us, we shall destroy your forces here."

"Hokage-dono, all I know is we were ordered to attack by our Kazekage, but we believed him to be here. If he is not here, then Suna has a greater problem than we imagined."

"Withdraw your troops from the Land of Fire and we can sit down to discuss things," Sarutobi said in a tone that would take no argument.

The Sand general frowned but he knew he was already backed into a corner. After the Kazekage, he was the ranking military officer for Suna. This gambit had already failed and he decided to cut the losses and get his remaining troops out of there intact.

"We will withdraw," he said simply before backing away a few steps, then turning to leave.

Sarutobi signaled and the gate opened enough for his group to step back within the walls of Konoha.

The Hokage met with the jonin commanders within minutes. "Delegate three jonin teams to monitor the Sand ninja as they pull back. If they do anything else, ensure their safety and report in. Who are we missing in that quadrant?"

One military jonin spoke up, "Sir, aside from the missing patrol you sent Kakashi out to trace; we have two more patrols in that region. Both had checked in yesterday and had no report."

Sarutobi nodded, "Get messages to them. They are to avoid contact with the Sand ninja and meet up with the jonin teams being dispatched. Once the border stations are in place once more, we shall begin talks with the Sand village." Within minutes, a chunin was running toward the aviary to send the messages.

Jiraiya spoke up, "I brought in two genin from Kakashi's team. They are at an aid station in the northwest part of the village getting treatment. They were both unconscious from wounds, chakra depletion and food pill overdoses. I found no trace of Kakashi or the other team member."

Sarutobi nodded. "However, given your speed on your summons and the distance involved, I would not expect them to return to Konoha before late evening, but more likely tomorrow morning. That is if they to not pause to rest. If my calculations are correct, they would have been moving and fighting for nearly 36 hours already. Even with food pills that is pushing well beyond a genin's reserves. Dispatch a recovery team with a medic back along Jiraiya's path. If Kakashi is alive he will try to recover his genin and be tracking them."

Sarutobi next looked to the east, "How are things as far as Sound prisoners and casualties in that area?"

Another jonin replied, "Our casualties are very light, Hokage-sama. Initial numbers indicate under thirty severely injured or dead. Your orders to evacuate the civilians and to fall back it overmatched served us well. We were able to hit them much harder with greater force than if we had needed to protect civilians. Property damage is extensive in the battle areas but limited to those areas. Sound forces suffered a near total loss to those that entered the village. Force count remaining is unknown but not considered a threat as few jonin have been seen and no ninja above B class has been reported."

Sarutobi nodded grimly. He hated death and needless death was troubling. But he would not back down on this.

"Press the Sound forces that remain. Accept surrenders but crush any resistance as far as the border of the Fire Country. We will deal with their forward camp soon," he said in a commanding voice.

* * *

Sakura woke slowly with a pounding headache. The white ceiling of the hospital came into focus. 'I am ending up in this place way too much,' she thought as she tried to sit up. She noted the intravenous tube in her arm and frowned. Two plastic bags hung there to give her fluids. She noticed that the smaller of the bags had emptied. The label was something she recognized as something to make her sleep.

She assessed herself first. She was sore all over from running and fighting for such a long time. The memory of the torture danced across her mind and she looked at her shoulder. Sakura was happy to see the healed flesh with the barest sign of white lines where the slices had been. 'Medical ninjutsu' she thought.

Next, she looked around the room. In the bed next to her was a familiar mop of spiky blonde hair. 'The same room again. They must think we are a couple or something,' she thought with a hint of a chuckle. She could see the boy was just sleeping so she decided to let him remain that way.

The pink haired teen reached out and pressed the nurse call button and waited. Shortly, a nurse walked in smiling.

"You're up sooner than we thought you would be," she said smiling and set out to remove the needles from Sakura's arm. "Since you are up, you won't be needing these anymore. I do ask that you remain in the hospital overnight. We have a problem with ninja having an annoying tendency to get up and leave whenever they feel like it."

Sakura just nodded. "Could I get something to eat?" she asked in a respectful voice. "I haven't eaten in some time."

The nurse smiled and walked out into the hallway before returning with a cold sandwich and some milk. "This is from our nurse's lounge. Patients are not supposed to get it but after hearing what you went through, you deserve it."

Sakura was surprised and blushed lightly. "Oh, thank you. Um, this is the main hospital right?" Sakura asked. After the nurse said it was Sakura continued. "My friend Ino, has she gotten any better?"

The nurse paused and got a strange look on her face. "She has not woken yet, but there have been a few um … complications."

"Can I go visit for a minute? I promise to be quiet?" Sakura asked eagerly.

The nurse thought before looking at the door. "I really can't allow you to go in to see her, even if her room is next to yours. I need to go make my rounds." The nurse looked up at the ceiling before leaving with a smile.

Sakura let the nurse leave with no other hassle. The woman was telling her something simple. She would not give permission but would also not be in a position to stop Sakura from going in herself. The pink haired girl got out of bed and almost regretted it as her still sore body protested. Forcing herself to keep going, she peeked out into the hallway. There normally would have been an ANBU guarding the door but the emergency had them all assigned to more needed duty.

As quickly as she could, Sakura moved to Ino's door and peeked in. Her green eyes widened. The normally separate beds had been pulled close together and what looked like sand was holding them there. But that barely drew any notice of her gaze. She focused on the hands and intertwined fingers of the comatose Ino and Gaara.

* * *

Next Chapter: Reshuffling the Deck

* * *

Review Notes: Not much in regard to reviews but I thank everyone who has asked for more.

One thing a lot of writers might notice is how much my stories tend to violate the 'Laws of Anime'. Google that term, you will get a good laugh reading them. Law #17 Rules.

Personal Notes: Yes, it has been a while since I updated. Life happens. I dealt with it and am still here.

Every writer gets sidetracked over the course of their writing. My original plans for this story had been to drop Sasuke in favor of Choji. That was the reason for his spotlight a few chapters back. My unintended six month time off has meant I needed to go re-read all of my work from the beginning to get the story back into my head and the muse working once more. (Damn, WBIF has a lot of editing mistakes that need correcting) My original idea with Choji has changed and he is out. Sasuke will be dropped as well. My current plans include focusing on Naruto and Sakura and their adventures with occasional forays into the side story for other character updates like the Ino / Gaara situation. Once the Chunin Exams interlude wraps up there, the story will be converted into a haven for one shot chapters of characters that appear in this one and slide out of the mainstream flow. My plans there under my new outline include finishing the Ino/Gaara, and Hinata storylines. Then taking a look at Danzo, Gashi (Sai), and Hiro with Blue Aardvark.

The future awaits! Now I have to get it out of my head and into Word

* * *

Ed 2/25/2010  
Edited and Reposted 8/4/2010  
Fixed a minor plot hole when Sakura woke at the end and seemed to ignore Naruto. Placed Naruto in the room sleeping to take out the seeming lack of concern for her teammate.


	16. Reshuffling the Deck

**Reshuffling the Deck**

Konoha sent four teams of ANBU in a lightning fast raid on the Sound bandit encampment halfway to the border before sunrise the morning after the failed invasion. No quarter was given in the raid. The sentry positions had been well documented by ANBU over the weeks they monitored the camp. After the lookouts were quietly disposed of, over one hundred of bandits and Sound ninja died in their sleep.

The Hokage's plan to take the camp intact was for it to act as a support base for patrols in the northern half of the Fire Country. He proposed a joint staffing plan with the Legions which was accepted as the threat by bandits and Sound ninja still existed. The reopening trade routes with the Rice Fields Country would line the Daimyo's coffers.

Cat surveyed the work on cleaning up the bodies at the campsite. Once, this kind of work had made her proud to do in the service of Konoha. After this morning, she recalled something she had said months before.

"_We're ninja. That's what we do. Being all showy and having flashy jutsu is for the Elites. They kill sometimes but not often. Elites make ninja look less like a covert strike force than we really are. Public relations is one thing but you don't honestly think the classes in killing were just for show did you?"_

_Sakura blustered, "Well no but you make it sound like you were buying groceries or something."_

"_Not really, but the day it becomes like buying groceries is the day you need to stop doing it and get out," Yuugao said softly._

Cat looked at the pyre of burning bodies. "Just like buying groceries," she muttered

* * *

Sarutobi looked over his promotion list in the aftermath of the fighting. The military side of the ninja force had done the lion's share of the work. Individual unit commanders had to submit lists of their entire section with the current and proposed ranks for every ninja of Konoha. Sarutobi was pleased to see the training level of most of his forces was progressing well. Dozens had been put up for promotion from genin to chunin based on their fighting ability and squad leadership skills. In some cases, entire squads had been recommended. He smiled and noticed the inclusion of the squad that had rescued Team 8 in the Forest of Death. The third member who lost quickly to the Sound ninja was included for promotion. He had been the leader of that particular squad at the time. His teammates both offered to remain genin if he was not promoted because he had always been the one who led them. The additional recommendation of an ANBU squad captain didn't hurt his record either. The Hokage approved the recommendations.

Sarutobi frowned as he noted a few older genin had been recommended 'with cause' for 'non combat related duties'. Those he signed off on without hesitation. If someone under his command could not perform up to standards, they found themselves with a single chance to repair that issue. Warehouse guard duty was not pleasant but it was seen as a sign that you needed to get yourself back up to those standards or get out.

A handful of chunin were recommended to be tested for jonin rank. This brought a smile to his face. They were thin at jonin in the military arm. More would be welcome. Sarutobi made a note to get those ninja looked at closely by existing jonin, both in the Elite and military arms.

The Elites would be the next thing he dealt with. He had the final decision for any promotions there. Some of the older Elite chunin unlikely to make jonin would be moved to positions of squad level command in the military ranks. They would be the eyes of the Hokage for seeking out exceptional talent that the Academy screening process had missed. Clan ninja faced with that possibility tended to retire at that point to start families and continue their clan. He could not get many of them to accept such a move as they looked at it as a demotion.

ANBU had requested five military chunin, a single jonin and a pair of Elite chunin to be admitted to training for their ranks. Sarutobi scanned over the service records of the ninja in question before approving the request. ANBU would then offer those ninja admittance to their training program to be accepted or rejected by the people asked. No one was forced into ANBU but no one got in without being chosen after a careful vetting and the choice to join made by the individual. Few passed up on the offer. The last person to turn them down was Umino Iruka. Instead he asked to be assigned to the Academy becoming the youngest instructor there.

The last group on the list was the Elite genin. They were always a small group but they made some of the most money with high profile missions. Those missions tended to be public relations or diplomatic with some of the most powerful genin in the village. They had the highest standards for promotion but as they also were the future leaders of clans and of Konoha as a whole, they needed to be held to a higher level of achievement.

The injuries to Ino and Hinata had left both on reserve status. This meant two teams had been left incomplete and stagnant. The Hokage needed to rearrange things to keep the money flowing in. His personal team also needed attention. It was dysfunctional as well in spite of his hopes. Sighing, he pulled out his private notes on his Elite ninja. This might take some time.

* * *

Naruto woke with the sunlight on his face as he got ready for his day. A week cleaning up debris in the battle area had left even him sore each evening. He had chuckled when some military side ninja had strolled past saying he missed a spot. Some of his former classmates from both the Academy and the Remedial program had been there as well. One thing the Hokage always insisted on was that the Elites help with any cleanup in the village. It was not much in the end but it paid off with keeping the military side happy to see the Elites 'get dirty' doing D Rank missions. The history of Konoha had that tradition from the beginning; those who would lead must first serve. Naruto even forgave the Old Man for assigning Sakura and him to the D ranks even if he said he wouldn't do that. The Old Man looked a little frazzled and the blonde really did not want to be the one to disobey orders and suffer the fallout.

Kakashi had told him yesterday that the team would be going to a meeting with all the other Elite genin. The holes in their teams were obvious to even their inexperienced eyes. The jonin had said this meeting was going to change things and reminded them to be on time.

* * *

The scarecrow looking jonin had spent little time in front of the Memorial Stone for the past month now but this morning he felt the need to do so. His memories over the past week echoed in his head. He and Sasuke had been found resting by a recovery team near sunset the day of the failed invasion. The following morning they returned to the village to reunite with Naruto and Sakura. The mission debriefing had been with Ibiki and the Hokage in attendance since they were technically directly under the Hokage's command.

For once, the jonin had been bluntly honest with his evaluation of his actions and those of his team during the entire ordeal. He made sure that even Sasuke paid attention during the report by Sakura and Naruto's fighting retreat and attempts to break contact with the Sand forces.

He was in agreement with the Hokage when the leader stopped the debriefing at Sakura's capture, only stating that Jiraiya had stepped in there to bring the pair back to Konoha. Both Sasuke and Sakura had wanted to know those details but the leader had said he already had Jiraiya's details and did not need more at this time.

Kakashi noted the time. Noon was approaching and he did not want to be late for this meeting

* * *

Sakura walked briskly toward the Hokage Tower. She had plenty of time but wanted to be there early for the meeting. It had a long week and she was still sore after all over but it was a nice feeling. Training and adversity had made her a strong kunoichi. She liked the glances some older teens had given her and the mild glares from a few civilians were nothing to her now. The military ninja all nodded to her in greeting even if no words passed between them. The ones who cared to know were aware of her having a foot on each side of the line between Elite and military.

Rumors about the night before the invasion circulated widely and both she and Naruto could not escape them. The ranks had heard them all in some form or another. The pink haired teen found she now had an even more dangerous reputation. The most extreme rumor was that the pair had killed hundreds of Sand jonin with nothing more than a toothpick and a piece of dental floss. A senior jonin had already suggested that all the Elites go through the Remedial course if they produced results like that. The Hokage said he would take it under advisement.

She was anxious to know what was going to happen in this meeting. No Elite missions had been given out and this meeting of all the Elite genin was something not done often. She arrived a full half hour early and saw she was the first in the room. She found a good seat along one side where she could see all the doors in a single glance and relaxed. Her mind flashed back to her talk with Naruto after she had been released from the hospital a few nights before.

_Sakura knocked on the door of Naruto's apartment loud enough to wake even him. The boy had asked her to come over tonight after she asked him about the red eyes and that red aura during their night running from the Sand. Naruto had looked sad but agreed to talk to her._

_The blonde teen had her sit on his second hand couch while he talked in slow tones. First, he asked her what she understood about sealing. She had gotten that part quickly. But when he came out and said what came next she was shocked._

"_Sakura, the day I was born, the Kyuubi attacked Konoha. The Fourth didn't die killing it. He died sealing it into the only thing that could keep it captive; a newborn baby, me. Since that day, the Kyuubi no Yoko has been held locked away inside a seal on my stomach."_

_Sakura was shocked but her rational mind digested the information quickly. It explained why Naruto healed so fast, had more chakra than the Hokage and was treated badly by so many people. The thought of a demon sealed away inside of Naruto was a shock but her reaction shocked the boy._

_She could see he expected her to reject him. That she would accuse him of being the demon and refuse to work with him in the future. Instead, she stepped up to Naruto and hugged him, simply saying, "Thank you, Naruto. Thank you for protecting us all."_

_Nothing else was said on the matter. It didn't need to be._

Her thoughts were disturbed by people starting to enter the briefing room. She saw a few teams older than her enter and sit together. She shuddered at the green spandex unitard and bowl cut of one boy. Naruto followed one team in and she waved him over. He smiled and walked over to a seat next to her. Sasuke arrived shortly after that. The dark haired boy looked like he had not slept at all since the failed invasion. The dark rings under his eyes made him resemble that Sand kid Gaara. He only nodded to the pair before sitting two seats away from Naruto in normal guy fashion. The pairs of Team 8 and Team 10 also sat with their jonin sensei close by. Kiba had light braces on his arms to support the chakra repaired bones until they strengthened naturally. Other older genin straggled in as the noon hour approached. Kakashi was the last to arrive before the Hokage walked in and stood in the front of the room.

"I am glad you are all on time for this meeting," Sarutobi began. "As you all know, solid teamwork is the basis of most of Konoha's success and good reputation. Recent events mean we need to rearrange a few teams. Other events during the attack by the Sound village also will have an impact on team formation."

"Many of the genin here are on the cusp of promotion to chunin but need a little more experience before that is granted. The interrupted Exams left us unable to fully evaluate some of you so no promotions will come directly from that. I will however, ask your jonin sensei for recommendations in three months on all of you."

Sarutobi read off a few changes to the older teams. Surprisingly, he then dismissed everyone except for the current year teams and Team Guy. After the older Elite genin had all left he spoke once more.

"The events involving Team 8 and Yamanaka Ino of Team 10 have left those two teams broken. Until the injured kunoichi are able to return to duty, the following changes will be made. Hyuuga Neji will be moved to Team 8. Tenten will be moved to Team 10. Guy shall continue as the sensei of Rock Lee. Now, those teams and instructors are dismissed."

"Burn with youth in your temporary assignments my cute students," Guy shouted as he dragged Lee to the doorway. "Come Lee, we shall run ten laps around Konoha to celebrate Tenten and Neji spreading their youth with others."

"Yes, Guy-sensei," Lee shouted as he was dragged along.

Neji and Tenten both seemed oddly relieved as they walked out with their new teams.

Only Kakashi and the originally planned Team 7 remained. The Hokage motioned for them to sit along the front row. The leader looked at each genin in turn.

"I know the teamwork on this team is not where it should be. Uchiha Sasuke, you feel that you are being held back by this team, is that correct?"

Sasuke frowned at being singled out by the Hokage. His opinion of his teammates had shifted slightly in the week since that night. Even he could not dispute their skill when it was presented to him in the distance traveled and the number of enemy wounded and dead he and Kakashi had run over. It had shaken his confidence in himself badly. He knew he needed to get stronger to deal with his brother but how far he needed to go to get there had for the first time become daunting.

At every turn, the pink harpy and the blonde idiot were getting better and in some was were better than him. But the pair confused him. They would show their skills against him then turn around and offer the hand of friendship. Time and again it had happened in the past month. He had always rebuffed their offers but still they continued to try to work with him. A small part of him knew they were looking to make him better but his pride kept him from accepting. The words of his brother kept ringing and repeating in his ears when he tried to sleep.

'_Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me. And yet survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life.'_

He needed to get his revenge. But doing it in the way his brother had said was not getting him strong. Hate was not working. The improvement of that pair proved that point beyond even his narrowed view. His head hurt as the last words kept repeating until a soft voice added one more line to the cacophony in his head.

'_Let go of your anger. Back at the introductions for Team 7, you said that you wanted to restart your clan and kill a certain man. There is no way you can accomplish either one on your own. You'll have to accept help sometime, Sasuke.'_

"Sasuke?" the voice of the Hokage said with concern.

Sasuke looked up from where he had been holding his head. The memories were silent for a moment as he whispered, "Brother did something to me. I … I need help with it."

The Hokage knelt down and looked deeply into the Uchiha's black eyes before smiling kindly. "Then you shall have it, Sasuke. We have been waiting and hoping for years that you would ask for it." The aged leader looked to Kakashi.

"Kakashi, I know you would have liked to keep the team intact but this situation is one that needs addressing immediately. I want you to stay with Sasuke now and help him along."

"Can you go with Kakashi to go talk with a new counselor, Sasuke? We have one from the Yamanaka clan that has dealt with the effects of Uchiha eye techniques in the past."

Sasuke looked at the others. Naruto and Sakura both looked concerned for him. Even Kakashi looked worried. They were not people he considered friends but they thought well enough of him to think that. Slowly he nodded. The smiles of glad approval that appeared on four faces were a shock to him but it sent a warm feeling into him as well.

Going with Kakashi, Sasuke left.

The Hokage sighed. It had not gone like he had hoped but it solved more problems than it created. Now, what to do with his terrible twosome? Another talk he had recently came to mind.

"Sakura, Naruto, come to my office," he commanded. Then using hand signs, he ordered his guard to send for someone.

* * *

Sarutobi walked quickly with the genin in tow. He breezed directly into his office past a few people waiting to see him with a slight nod to acknowledge they were there. A messenger from the Daimyo did not bode well and he needed to make time to speak with the man. Minutes later, Cat appeared in the office.

"You sent for me, Hokage-sama," she spoke from her kneel.

"Yes, I had, Cat," he replied. "I decided on your request from the other day and one you made previously. Are you still willing to serve as a teacher and squad leader for these genin?"

"But what about Kakashi-sempai?" she replied.

"Things have changed, Cat. The Uchiha boy has finally asked for help and I felt that over-rides any other team concern."

Cat looked at Naruto and Sakura then nodded, "If they would have me, I would be honored to work with them. As I informed you, both are aware of my appearance but not my full identity."

Sarutobi looked to the genin. "I know this is sudden and not something planned on. You were both learning to deal with Kakashi but you both will learn a great deal from Cat. If you have any reservations on this assignment, tell me now."

Sakura nodded first, "I have none, Hokage-sama. Cat has already helped me and I have no issues with her command."

Naruto hesitated but nodded "I have no issues, Hokage-sama."

The aged leader nodded. "The three of you will act as a three person team. If additional personnel are needed for an assignment, they will be added. We shall hammer out the fine points later on. I have a number of appointments waiting so go discuss things somewhere else. Dismissed."

The new team quickly left the room.

* * *

Cat led the pair along a roundabout path to a plain building. At the entrance, another masked ANBU appeared. Cat whispered to the man who stepped aside to let the trio enter.

"This is one of our trainee locker rooms. We can talk here," she said slipping off her mask.

Sakura and Naruto waited patiently for Yuugao to begin. The woman ran her fingers through her long purple hair as she thought.

"Okay, my name is Uzuki Yuugao. My rank is jonin but I am officially a member of ANBU. That remains unchanged. I had requested to be the jonin sensei for the pair of you after the Root incident but Hokage-sama had other ideas. Recent events had led me to asking to be released from masked ANBU service."

The genin looked concerned for a moment until she looked directly at Sakura. "It became like getting groceries, Sakura."

The pink haired girl just nodded understanding before whispering to Naruto, "I'll explain that later."

Yuugao continued. "I am not sure how things will go for us. I never taught before but for the most part we will be doing missions and improving teamwork early on. The Remedial classes took care of most of the basics. I can add in some more powerful jutsu as we figure out what kind would suit each of you. I have a boyfriend but that won't interfere with missions. You'll meet him eventually. I'm not sure what else but I'm sure we can figure it out as we go."

Naruto and Sakura both formally introduced themselves but Yuugao already knew most of it. She did smile when Sakura referred to Naruto's 'stomach problem' and decided that made things a lot easier.

* * *

Jiraiya giggled like a schoolgirl as he peered through the crack in the fence around the hot springs. 'This place is the best for hot babes,' he thought as he wrote down some descriptions of the women. Plotlines danced in his mind as he wrote.

"Hey, pervert," came a voice from behind him. Jiraiya quickly stowed his notes before glancing back. He was used to being caught in his 'research' and saving his work always came before facing the results of his actions. In a nonchalant fashion he turned to see who had caught him this time.

His face almost faulted at seeing the trio looking at him. Purple hair flanked by blonde and pink. His memory quickly identified his opponents. 'So, Sensei's newest project against his greatest student. Well, time to play the fool.'

Jiraiya jumped away from the fence to land behind the trio

"I am not just a pervert. I am Jiraiya, the Toad Sage and I am a Super Pervert," the white haired man said as he began a strange dance. "I am the legend who excites women's dreams and fantasies. I am known far and wide …" His song and dance ended as Yuugao shoved him back.

"Can it, Jiraiya-sama," she growled. "I know what you are and if it were not for my students I would be trying to carve you up right now."

"Students?" he said playing ignorance.

Yuugao smirked wryly. "Yes, students. I know Hokage-sama briefed you and you met them already so please for both of our sakes, drop the charade. We need to speak in private."

Jiraiya nodded almost imperceptively before whispering, "Training field eleven." The man then ran off cackling like a madman. "You will never catch the great Jiraiya!"

Yuugao motioned to Naruto and Sakura to follow and the trio ran off in a different direction.

Minutes later, Jiraiya joined them at an isolated training area.

"What is so important that you need to speak with me, Cat?" Jiraiya said in a dark tone.

Naruto and Sakura were both surprised by the shift in the man's actions. First he seemed the fool and now both were intimidated by how dangerous he seemed.

"First, my students had something they wished to say to you," Yuugao said gesturing to Sakura and Naruto.

The genin both bowed formally as Sakura spoke. "Thank you for rescuing us from those Sand jonin, Jiraiya-sama. Without your aid we would be dead right now."

The white haired man managed to not blush as he rarely got thanks for his deeds. He was more used to being yelled at and chased in his cover than thanked for anything.

"You are both quite welcome," he replied in a quiet voice. It did warm his heart getting gratitude and helping Minato's boy was a bonus. He had not been a good godfather to the boy but his duty to the village needed to come first. "So, tell me about yourselves," the Toad Sage said.

Yuugao smiled at seeing all of them. Her talks with Hiro had been quite enlightening. The man had only hinted at things but her sharp mind connected the dots quickly. The boy's name was the first clue. The only Uzumaki in the village had been the ANBU legend Shippu. Shippu had the distinction of never failing at an assigned mission and with no casualties. Hiro had served in her squad for his first year prior to her going on Hokage protection duty. A year after that, Shippu had stepped down and vanished. Hiro soon found himself on protection detail after that guarding the pregnant red headed woman seen in the company of the Yondaime.

As there are few secrets kept from ANBU, she knew that Naruto was the person containing the Kyuubi. Since Shippu had been his mother and a redhead, that meant the father was a blonde. The pieces quickly fell into place after that. It was an easy mental leap as to who the boy's father had been.

The purple haired jonin kept all of these thoughts private but was interested to hear Naruto's description of the battles and night chase from the Sand forces.

"Jiraiya-sama, Kakashi-sensei had used something called a shadow clone. What is that?" the blonde boy asked. "Jiji used the name one once too."

Sakura was tempted to smack the boy but she was curious about the jutsu as well once it was brought up.

Jiraiya got a thoughtful look on his face before glancing at Yuugao. The jonin nodded slightly.

"Well, I do know what that is. It is a special type of clone that creates a solid copy of the person. It has limited awareness and is able to cast jutsu. When it is dispelled, the person gets the memories and experience of the clone so it is a useful jutsu for gathering and passing on information. It is considered forbidden as the chakra cost is prohibitive. You need a minimum of jonin level control or reserves to use it at all without killing yourself."

Naruto's eyes almost lit up at the description and the idea of a new jutsu. "Could I learn it from you, Jiraiya-sama? Pleeeeease?" Naruto tried to make puppy eyes at the white haired Sage but the old man laughed.

"Puppy eyes technique? Geez boy, that only works for girls!" the man said laughing louder.

Naruto grumbled for a moment before looking at Sakura saying, "Please don't hit me for this."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just this once."

Naruto made a hand sign and in a puff of chakra smoke transformed. A naked blonde haired girl appeared in front of Jiraiya making puppy eyes at him with a cute pout. "Pwease Jiraiya-sama."

The Toad Sage looked in shock at the naked blonde goddess in front of him and was overcome by the power of her looks. Blood spewed from his nose as he fell back in a faint of perversion.

Naruto dropped his special jutsu and almost fell to the ground laughing and pointing at the downed Jiraiya.

Sakura rolled her eyes once more but just stood there as the 'great Jiraiya' composed himself.

"Well, I guess I could teach you the jutsu if your teacher approves," he muttered.

* * *

'When it rains, it pours,' Sarutobi thought as he looked at the pair of mission requests on his desk. The Daimyo was requesting a spying mission to the Land of Wave to see why his cousin had not attended the Chunin Exams when he had said several months before that he would be there. The Daimyo had also received no recent replies to his letters. He feared something sinister was going on in the Wave Country and commissioned Konoha to find out what it was.

Sarutobi recalled the incident months before with the bridge builder from Wave and a team of genin being killed along with the rookie jonin sensei. Even with ANBU investigating the deaths, no trace of the killers had been found. The bodies were simply cut to pieces. Several days of bad weather and animals scavenging the corpses had left no useable evidence.

An investigation to Wave had not even been able to enter the country. All boats capable of reaching the mainland had been confiscated by order of the daimyo of Wave. Now, the only way in or out was over the recently finished bridge. The Gato Corporation had bought the unfinished span from the ruler and completed it. An edict from the Wave daimyo had also banned all ninja from entry into the country once it was completed. This was too much of a coincidence in the aged leader's eyes.

'The whole series of events around Root left me with no recourse at the time but to let the case of the dead squad grow cold,' he thought. 'Now, this mission from the Daimyo could easily escalate into something more.'

The second request was from Hyuuga Hiashi. The situation with Hinata's injuries had forced him to seek other means to cure them. Hiashi wanted a team to find Senju Tsunade, one of the best medics in history and student of the Sandaime, and get her to treat the heiress. It was said she had jutsu capable of even repairing damage to a mind inflicted by the Sharingan.

The crux of the Hyuuga mission was twofold. The first would be in tracking down the Hokage's final student. The second was in convincing the woman to return to Konoha. The legendary medic had said she would never return to the village while she was alive.

The Hinata situation was also growing progressively worse. The Hyuuga elders would not back down on their drive to have Hinata removed as heiress in favor of the younger and more easily controlled Hanabi. The Inuzuka and Aburame with their pending Blood Debt claims on Hinata had stalled their efforts. Hiashi stood trapped in the middle. He did not want either of his daughters branded but his own position as the Hyuuga clan leader was growing tenuous at best. The only thing that could resolve the situation was Hinata healed in both body and mind and able to face down the elders.

Scowling, Sarutobi reached for his pen to assign his ninja.

* * *

**Author Notes:**

Dangles the evil cliffhanger with two different possible paths to take. Mwahahahaha

Shippu is Japanese for Hurricane.

This was a short transition chapter to set up the next arc. Its only purpose was getting the new teams lined up and going. Also some hints of events from the other story.

Pulling Sasuke off of the team had always been my intent. I had thought of simply killing him off during the Sand fighting but instead I gave in to simply following a different path. Kishimoto has had many points where he could have turned the brooding Uchiha away from his darkness but always kept him on the path of evil. In this story, without the curse seal and the lure of power from Orochimaru, the changes that Naruto brings out in people managed to break into the boy's head. Naruto and Sakura were stronger than him at this point and proved it. Then each time he was down they would extend the hand of friendship. It set up a conflict for him that they would be kind AND powerful when the imperative his brother set up told him that only hate could make him powerful when it had not. In the moment he doubted the path of hate, Sarutobi decided to take advantage of that and get him some help.

**Review Notes:**

Orochimaru is as dead as Spider Man's Uncle Ben.

Ino, Gaara, Hinata and the others will be addressed in 'Captured Sidestories'.

EdStargazer 03/11/10


	17. the Wave Under Thumb

**The Wave Under Thumb**

Uzumaki Naruto was not happy this morning. He wished that Jiraiya could have stayed around but the man had left Konoha late last night on a mission for the Hokage. The only thing that even made his mood lighter was the new jutsu the Toad Sage had taught him the night before. The Shadow Clone was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Sakura and Yuugao-sensei were both surprised at the speed he had learned the technique. When he finally got the basics of the technique down, he had created dozens of clones. Jiraiya had left him with a strict warning.

"A ninja relies more on surprise than anything else, Naruto. When possible, use as few of these clones as you can. If people know you have the capacity to do that many clones they will plan on it and come at you with more power than you can handle. Outside of Konoha, let that be a weapon of last resort," the white haired man advised.

"Think about my example, Naruto," Jiraiya said. "I am one of the Legendary Sannin and the Toad Sage but people don't think about that first. They see me as Jiraiya, the Great Pervert and author of the best selling Icha Icha series and as someone who is well past his prime. They do not realize that is also a cover for my other activities for Konoha and lower their expectations of me. I freely admit I am a pervert and do everything that my reputation says but I have also kept my ninja skills nearly as sharp as they were in the battle the day I earned the title of Sannin. The fights I have had to engage in over the years have been made that much easier for me due solely to my reputation as an out of shape lecher."

The blonde grumbled at learning such a great new jutsu then being told he shouldn't use it often. He could understand the reasons but a part of him still wanted to impress people and show how great he could be. He figured he could still practice it in Konoha.

The blonde took off at a light run toward the practice areas for the obstacle course. He had a date with the expert run this morning. 'That record is going to fall today,' he thought as he grinned.

* * *

Sakura was smiling smugly with her hands clasped behind her back and almost skipping along as Naruto sulked beside her. He had finally beaten the old record time on the expert level obstacle course with zero deductions. His joy was short lived when he found that the record had been broken earlier that morning by his teammate Sakura. He was now a full two seconds off the pace she had set.

"You shouldn't pout like that Naruto, it'll give you warts," she teased.

"Yeah whatever Sakura-chan," the blonde grumped. "I just want to know why you picked today to get all serious about the obstacle course. I've been after that record for weeks now and you beat it by a time that makes it look easy."

Sakura blushed lightly at the 'easy' comment as her pride was yelling 'You got that right sucker!' in her head. "I just never felt the need to before, Naruto. After that whole bit in the woods against the Sand ninja, I wanted to get a better idea of what I was capable of doing. Breaking the record like that surprised me."

"It surprised me as well," another voice chimed in. The pair turned to see their new sensei, Yuugao looking at them. She tossed each genin a bokken, a wooden sword of katana length.

"Meet your new best friends. We have a mission," she told them.

* * *

Sarutobi was calm as he gave them their mission briefing.

"Your mission is two separate assignments. The cover mission is to serve as bodyguards for a minor nobleman being sent to the Land of Waves by the Daimyo. The man is to negotiate a trade agreement. The team will be acting undercover solely as civilian bodyguards. There will be some other bodyguards as well so the task of being his guards is not squarely on the three of you. Yuugao will be an actual guard while Naruto and Sakura will be her apprentices and students."

"You will be issued weapons and equipment captured from the bandit camp. We maintain a warehouse of nothing but such captured items so the equipment will fit you properly but are not obviously new. I will let the three of you develop whatever cover story you will need. However, you will not carry anything that could trace you back to the village."

"Your primary mission is to determine the condition and status of the Daimyo's cousin; the daimyo of the Wave. He is the reason for this request," Sarutobi finished.

"Hokage-sama, wouldn't a more experienced team be better for this mission?" Sakura asked. "There are some teams better suited for infiltration than ours."

"I agree that some teams are better at infiltration and have more experience. However, the current situation is a difficult one. At the moment, a state of war still exists between the Sound and Sand Villages and our own. The Sound is not even attempting to negotiate like the Sand is. It is necessary for me to keep my greatest power close at hand. If this mission had come from anyone but the Daimyo, I would have passed on it. This assignment is a compromise. The best team I have out of who is available to send on it. The Land of Waves had banned ninja within its bordres. Other teams that are better suited are from known ninja clans and would be recognized as such. The three of you are not a part of any known clan and you would not be noticed."

"Merchants are not being allowed past the bridge town into the interior of Wave. The reports of merchants who talk to our people say there has been a change of power in Wave. We need to know what that change is and the trade talks are our only way to get someone to the capital. Remember, this is a recon mission. You _must_ return with the information we need. Future plans by the Daimyo will hinge heavily on this assignment. You will _not_ be heroes and try to do anything that would jeopardize your return. Dismissed."

* * *

Days later, three people were walking down a road in the Land of Fire towards a small castle town. Yuugao was in the lead wearing the cheap clothes of a mercenary. Flanking her and a few paces back on either side were Naruto and Sakura. The teens were both wearing clothes that were well worn but in good repair. As they walked, the teens were practicing sword strokes as Yuugao called out moves.

"Left thrust," she said in a controlled voice. The sweaty teens both angled their bokken and stepped toward their left to thrust at invisible enemies.

In the waistband of each teen was a maximum length kodachi. The heavier bokken were merely carried to train with to learn the moves. Yuugao saved the practice with the live blades for the time before sleeping.

"Right thrust," Yuugao said. Both teens shifted and thrust once more to their right. Neither teens was happy with the arrangement but understood the reason for it. To go undercover as guards, they needed to be able to use the weapons. Since their sensei already knew swordplay, it made sense that they would be traveling as her apprentices. Their ages fit well into that cover story. The teens were at the bottom end of the age to be apprenticing as mercenaries in their land.

"Forward thrust," Yuugao called out. Both teens thrust ahead of their walking path so that the bokken bracketed their teacher. The purple haired woman glanced side to side to see the position of the training weapons. "Sakura, too high. Until you are more experienced with the sword, you aim for the center of the body, not the neck. You are less likely to miss that way."

"Yes, sensei," Sakura responded.

"Hold sword at ready defense position as you walk," Yuugao called out. The teens responded to the first they had learned days before and held the swords before them. Yuugao suddenly spun and in a single motion drew her own bokken and whacked Naruto on the side while he tried to intercept the blow.

"You need to be faster than that Naruto. You were holding it but not paying attention again." Yuugao smiled to see Sakura's bokken up near the teacher's neck. "At least your 'sister' has avenged your death," she said smiling.

Naruto grumbled as he rubbed the new bruise on his side. Learning to be a sword user was not pleasant. His only consolation was Sakura had nearly as many bruises as he did.

* * *

Yuugao presented the gate guard the papers of the contract from the Daimyo. According to the documents, the mercenary had been hired along with her apprentices to provide extra protection for his negotiator. Legion forces were still on alert due to the recent actions of Sand and Sound so the use of mercenaries was acceptable to the Daimyo. The letter also stated that a successful mission would give the trio an opportunity to join the Legions.

The guard grunted after reading the papers and instructed the trio to see the guard commander so the nobleman could get started with his mission. The squad leader for the journey chuckled slightly as he looked over Yuugao and Sakura and ignored Naruto. Yuugao cleared her throat to get the man's attention.

"Neither of us are conscripts, Sergeant so you can clear those thoughts out of your head right now. I was hired by the Daimyo for this job and my apprentices are off limits to you and your men. We are _not_ entertainment," she said with an edge to her voice.

The man glared slightly but nodded. If she was hired by the Daimyo, the woman knew how to handle a sword. He had seen that happen often enough. The Daimyo was always looking to have the best force he could afford and mercenaries joining the Legion meant money saved on training.

"My name is Yuugao, my siblings, Sakura and Naruto," she informed the man.

The man chuckled. "Cherry blossom fits her," he said looking at Sakura's pink hair. The man looked at Naruto next. "Fishcake huh? Well he looks dumb enough." Naruto frowned at the insult but kept still.

"You three really don't look like siblings or like you should be swordsmen," the sergeant commented as he looked at the different colors of hair on the trio.

"Three different mothers," Yuugao said with a sneer. "Daddy was a mercenary and a 'traveling man'. That limited our options. It was either this; marry a peasant or go work in a whorehouse."

The man nodded curtly. "You three walk trailer position. If you want another spot, you need to _convince_ me to put you somewhere else." He looked Sakura up and down once more before turning and going.

"Can I kill him, please, Yuugao-sensei?" Sakura muttered.

"No, and you can only wound him if he tries something. Don't encourage him or talk back but refer him to me if he wants either of you to do something. You work for me, not him," Yuugao said with a louder than needed voice to ensure a few other guards would overhear. One of the troopers nodded sagely at her advice to the teens but said nothing to the trio.

The nobleman's party had a driver, the noble's aide, several pack mules with a muleskinner, a half-dozen guards plus the undercover ninja. The trip was expected to last four days on the road to get to the bridge with an unknown amount of time while the negotiations went on followed by the return journey.

Shortly before the party set off, the one trooper who had nodded earlier walked past leading a mule. He muttered to Yuugao, "We've had some dry weather lately. You might want to keep scarves handy for the dust and some extra canteens of water if you are going to be stuck on trailer."

Yuugao just said "Thanks".

* * *

Luckily, the trip was uneventful. The guard commander would occasionally leer at Sakura and Yuugao but kept his distance. The trio of ninja were stuck spending their time in the dust raised by the wagon and mules ahead of them. Each night, Yuugao would have the teens spar with their bokken much to the amusement of the other guards. Even so, the teens' skill with swords improved rapidly and even the commander had to admit they wouldn't die immediately in a fight.

The final night of the trip to Wave the party stayed at a new inn near the bridge. The nobleman looked at the guards and said in a haughty voice. "Make sure the lot of you are presentable in the morning. I want my wagon washed and clean guards, even those children."

Yuugao took the option of paying for a room with Naruto and Sakura instead of the stables for free. All three welcomed the bath and being able to get their clothes washed after four days of dusty travel. The bathhouse was new like the inn but lacked an onsen so they were not able to relax much.

In the morning, the nobleman looked over everything before climbing into his wagon and the party traveled the short distance to the bridge. The Legion troopers on duty at the bridge all saluted the noble when his papers were presented. The muleskinner left the party at this point and led the mules off to a holding area. The wagon continued off over the bridge. The undercover ninja all focused ahead. Their mission was beginning.

Yuugao looked carefully at the people as they passed the threshold of the Wave side of the bridge. There were many guards all dressed in the colors of the Wave's daimyo but she noticed an extra symbol on the breast of each man. She kept her eyes moving around like the guard she was supposed to be but each glance told her a lot. For an island, the number of guards was far too high. There were several fences and gates between the bridge and the island. They seemed arrayed in depth and she noticed one shoo a civilian further away from the bridge when they tried to get closer. Between two layers of fence, a pair of bodies was hung on display from their feet with a sign reading 'Ninja' on each.

The bridge guard approached the party and demanded to see the noble's papers. After reading them, he nodded to a man at a gate, who opened it to let the group past. The man then came up to Yuugao.

"The noble said you are with him but as you are not wearing the uniform of the Land of Fire, I need to see your papers as well," he said in a cold voice.

Yuugao pulled out the scroll from the Daimyo and presented it to the man. He quickly read it over before nodding. "The documents look official enough. The noble has diplomatic immunity along with his guards. The three of you do not. If you get in trouble, you will be subject to the laws of the Wave. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Yuugao said. Naruto and Sakura just replied, "Yes, Sir."

The guard looked at Naruto and Sakura with an evil glare. "You two look kind of young to be mercenaries but about the right age to be ninja trainees."

Naruto growled at moved his hand toward his sword when Yuugao barked an order at him to stop.

"I am sorry, Sergeant," she said to the man. "He was scarred and humiliated by a ninja years ago and is sensitive to being likened to one. They are my apprentices and younger siblings which is why they are so young. They are still learning the way of the sword."

The sergeant stared at the marks on Naruto's cheeks for a moment before stepping back to head back to the gate. He returned with a trio of necklaces which he handed to Yuugao. The necklaces had disks several inches in diameter strung on them with writing on one side and a strange design on the other.

"You will wear these at all times and be ready to present them on demand. Lose them and you will end up dead or in prison," he told them. "Get moving. Your noble is impatient and leaving without you."

The trio of undercover ninja hurried to catch up to the wagon.

"What was up at the bridge?" Sakura asked.

"Ninja were forbidden entry into the Wave country in the last few months. Their daimyo signed the order. But the guards are definitely not his men," Yuugao said. "The fences and guards at the bridge were not put there to keep people out. They were meant to keep the people of the Wave country _in_."

"Keep them in?" Naruto asked in amazement. "But why would they do that? I mean the village back there is all new construction. The people we could see were doing normal business."

"As far as we could see, yes they were. But there are signs something else is going on here. Someone got too close to the fence and was warned back. The people are busy and some look like they are prospering. I bet we will even see new fields and people working in them as we approach the daimyo's castle. But under that is a feeling, like we are being watched," Yuugao went quiet after that.

Naruto frowned a bit as he walked. Yuugao-sensei was right. As he focused on that feeling, he could tell he was indeed being watched. It was different from what he felt in Konoha but it was still there. He could already identify several locations of people watching him. He mentally catalogued them, a shuttered building on the outskirts of the village near the bridge; a copse of trees between two rice paddies they were approaching; and a tower back behind them near the bridge had them in sight since they had entered the country.

"Three places that I can tell are watching us, Yuugao-sensei," he reported. "The one in the building feels like Konoha but the other two are much harder to detect."

"Keep track of all the places but don't be obvious about it, Naruto," Yuugao ordered. "Just keep your eyes looking out for bandits like normal."

* * *

The trip to the capitol passed through a narrow passage of trees and brush near a salt marsh. The guard commander coughed lightly a few times and Yuugao caught the signal. The spot was a prime place for an ambush.

"Remember, no chakra use at all if there is a fight," she whispered to her charges.

A rustle in the bushes was studiously ignored by Naruto as the wagon passed through the possible ambush site unharmed. The guards relaxed slightly as the wagon was several lengths past the narrowest point. Suddenly a shout of panic came from the wagon by the noble's aide. The man was facing rearward opposite the noble.

"Bandits!" he screamed in a girlish voice.

Yuugao, Naruto and Sakura all spun and drew their swords as a trio of masked bandits wielding clubs closed in on them. The bushes on the side of the road left Yuugao with no chance to get between the bandits and the genin without revealing her ninja abilities. This left Naruto and Sakura closest to danger but neither one panicked and both assumed a defensive stance. Two men closed on Naruto while one went after Sakura.

Sakura side stepped far enough away from Naruto that she would not hit him when she swung her sword. The man attacking her swung overhand at her head but she sidestepped once more and thrust her kodachi at the man's sternum once he had missed. Somehow, the man managed to get his club in the way of the strike before following up with a kick to the girl's stomach. Sakura suppressed the urge to counter with taijutsu and instead brought her kodachi straight down to slice the man's shin.

Naruto found himself facing the pair of bandits. He swung horizontally to stop their rush at him before trying to back up enough for Yuugao to slide into the confrontation. He was forced to stop his retreat when it would have exposed Sakura's back to danger. He took a glancing blow to his arm that nearly made his drop his sword before he was able to damage one of the attackers. The man got a cut on his arm but it was not a danger to him.

Yuugao was finally beginning to edge around the fight when all three bandits turned and ran into the bushes. Seconds later, a squad of horseman came up to the wagon and demanded to know what was going on. The guard commander pointed back to the undercover team and told the patrol leader of the bandits.

Strangely, the leader showed little concern for the bandits but rather had his men roughly inspect the disks on the necklaces the trio wore. The men all shook their heads at the patrol leader before the patrol headed back along the road toward the bridge.

"That was weird," Naruto commented as the trio fall into place behind the moving wagon again.

"Naruto, are we being watched by anyone hidden right now?" Yuugao asked.

"I can't feel anyone but that doesn't mean we aren't," he replied quietly.

Yuugao nodded and looked closely at the disk herself. The writing on one side was simple enough but the design on the other side puzzled her. She stared for a few moments before she noticed a pattern she recognized. Buried in the design was a seal of some kind. She had no clue exactly what kind of seal but she felt it was not a beneficial one.

"Okay this is bad. That ambush was a planned thing with a patrol that nearby who wouldn't chase after bandits. If they were checking these disks so carefully just afterwards, they have to be something special," Yuugao said quietly once the party was moving again.

* * *

The group finally could see the daimyo's seat of government and residence ahead. The Wave did not have a castle for its leader but what looked more like a clan compound would back in Konoha. The age of the place was apparent and the old trees added to the look of wealth.

As an elaborately dressed guard led them inside, Naruto could pick out small things that looked off. The normal ground maintenance was lacking. The grass in the compound was uneven and dead flowers were mixed in with the living ones. The only people that could be seen were the same kind of guards as the ones from the bridge. The gate guard looked closely at the disks Yuugao, Naruto and Sakura wore. He took them away as another guard brought replacements.

The wagon pulled up to a small building that would serve as the noble's during the negotiations. It had a pair of guards on duty but no one else appeared to be there

The nobleman climbed out of his wagon and snapped his fingers. There was no servant to attend to him so he looked over his guards before focusing on Sakura and Naruto.

"Bags," he commanded as he pointed to his luggage.

Yuugao nodded to the pair to proceed. The aide lifted the nobleman's luggage from the wagon and handed it to the genin to carry. The teens followed the aide inside to the quarters the nobleman would have during the negotiations.

"Scandalous! No servants to attend me?" he grumbled. "I shall be forced to make my guards and these children attend to me then. Perhaps the pair of you children will not be as much of a burden as I feared."

Sakura bowed with Naruto a beat behind her.

"We will be of as much use as we can, Sir," Sakura said.

The aide spoke up. "You will address the Master as 'Milord'"

The noble glared at Naruto. "You do not speak, boy? You let your sister talk for you?"

"I-I a-a-apologize, Sir. I-I t-t-tend to stutter wh-when I am nervous. I l-l-let m-my sister sp-speak for me when p-p-os-sible," Naruto said with an effort.

"Good idea. That stutter makes you sound like an idiot," the noble said before looking back to Sakura. "Girl, you will help my aide see that my things are unpacked and find out if there are any laundries in this place to have my official kimono pressed."

"Yes, Milord," Sakura replied.

"Also, get those children washed up and in better clothes if they are to act as my servants here. I do not wish to be seen around ragamuffins," the nobleman told his aide.

The noble just dismissed the aide and genin to the assigned work while he pulled papers out to review before the negotiations were to start.

"Nice Hinata style move, Naruto," Sakura whispered once the noble was out of hearing.

"It was all I could think of at the moment. I was thinking of what is going on in this place and forgot how to act. So I covered by being unable to talk correctly," Naruto replied in the same volume.

Sakura nodded slowly. The lack of servants in the temporary residence was something serious. They had noticed many guards on the perimeter. It gave the residence an ominous feeling of confinement.

* * *

Sakura knelt quietly in a kimono that was slightly too large for her frame. She watched the noble discuss trade, taxes and use of the port facilities with the Finance Minister of Wave; a man named Gato. She listened carefully but kept her eyes focused on the water glass near the noble. She had been attending the meetings since the second day. Her only 'official' duty at the meeting was to keep it more than half full. The pitcher beside her was already halfway gone in the hours she had been here.

'Two weeks and they are still arguing over what percentage to tax things that travel over the bridge. If the Land of Fire had an acceptable location for a port on this part of the coast, this negotiation would not even be needed,' she thought sourly.

"_Gato is a serious businessman in a job that is normally assigned to a political flunky," the noble had raged one evening. "If they had a normal finance minister in place this would have only taken a few days. A simple bribe and things would have been settled. This man negotiates like the tax money is going to be his or something."_

This memory echoed in her mind as she noticed the noble take another sip of water while Gato spoke. Once it was set back down she stood and took the pitcher up to the table to refill the glass. She still had not seen any servants in this part of the compound. She had seen a handful near the separate building that was the daimyo's primary residence and a few at the laundry but no others. There had no even been a sighting of the daimyo so far. Minister Gato was the only government official that would discuss things with them.

As the day drew to a close, there was a breakthrough. The final rates for use of the bridge had been decided after the noble had given in to Minister Gato's unflinching demands.

Once the documents had been signed and sealed, the noble and Minister Gato became more friendly.

"Well, you put up a tough fight on these rates, but I must go with the wishes of the daimyo," Mnister Gato said almost preening at his victory.

"You are certainly a change from most that I have had to deal with, Minister Gato. This has been a difficult agreement to reach. I was most discomforted by the sparse domestic help," the noble replied politely.

Minister Gato chuckled softly before replying.

"I can understand that. My apologies for the lack of attendants during your stay here. The daimyo has been putting all the income possible into improving the docks and agriculture of the Land of Wave. It was in a pitiful state before and he has decided to spend less on himself to show the people of the country how much he cares for them."

The noble nodded. "Keeping the peasants happy is important up to a point. I guess I was fortunate to have people with me that could aid me during my stay here."

"I noticed. The blonde boy has been cooking and this young girl serving as maid. You were fortunate to have them indeed. I have never had a maid with pink hair before. How much for her? I would not mind seeing if she is pink all over," Gato said with a leer.

Sakura blushed scarlet and barely kept her gasp of shock silent. She was only thirteen and that old man wanted to ... She cut off that thought before she reacted.

The noble chuckled in return. "If I could sell her, I believe I would in order to show a profit from this venture. But she is the apprentice of one of my guards who serves the Daimyo and is not mine to sell to you. If I tried to sell her, I believe the Daimyo would be convinced to dismiss me from my post. That or her master would kill me. The woman is a better swordsman than the rest of my guard combined."

Minister Gato nodded silently but had no reply to that.

* * *

The wagon rattled across the bridge back into the Land of Fire with the guards in attendance. Sakura was glad to be out of that country at last.

"Oy, am I glad to be away from that place," Naruto said a bit too loudly.

"Naruto!" Sakura snapped at him. Yuugao even raised an eyebrow at that.

"We are still on duty, Naruto," she said in a low voice.

Realization dawned on the blonde boy. They had not had any personal conversations with each other or Yuugao in the time they had been in Wave. Hearing her remind him that they were still on duty even when they were in familiar territory was embarrassing. He sensed something had been bothering his friend since the last trade meeting.

Fortunately, there was a message waiting at the land side of the bridge at the small Legion garrison. The noble was to report directly to the Daimyo. Yuugao and her apprentices were to report to a garrison in the northern part of the country for assignment. The jonin recognized the code words in the message for them to return to Konoha.

The team parted ways with the noble and set out along the road north still in their guise of mercenaries. Yuugao kept the walking pace brisk to eat up the miles. Her occasional glances back to Naruto and Sakura covered her looking further behind them.

"We are being followed," she said after an hour. "In the trees about a quarter mile behind us are at least two ninja. Stay ready."

The hours passed in silence after that. Now that he was aware of them Naruto could keep track of their tail. Yuugao had realized years ago during her time in ANBU that Naruto was a natural but untrained sensor type. It showed in his uncanny ability to know when he was being watched. Konoha had few pure sensor ninja and his untrained ability was proving useful now. A trained sensor would have alerted the Wave that there had been a ninja in their midst.

The trio finally stopped for the night at an inn with an onsen. They got a pair of rooms, one for Naruto and one for the women. In the bath before going to the hot spring, Yuugao noticed Sakura scrubbing herself extra hard. In the water, Yuugao sat Sakura down and confronted her.

"What is going on with you, Sakura? You have been glaring at people we pass all day. You practically took off your skin a few minutes ago."

Sakura looked down. "It's that minister, Gato back in Wave. He offered to _buy_ me from the nobleman like I was a piece of property."

"I figured as much, "Yuugao said.

"The way he looked at me. Even down in that Root shower, I never felt so dirty, so naked," Sakura muttered.

Yuugao nodded. "That is a part of this life, Sakura. You going to be okay with it?"

"Well, its not like I am out buying groceries, Yuugao-sensei. I was just the first time I ever experienced that," Sakura said with a weak smile.

The trip the following day was more of the same. The pair of ninja tailed the team as they walked along the road. They were heading through a low population area where the road had been cut from virgin forest when the ninja confronted them.

Yuugao had her sword out as she looked at the dark haired boy in a battle kimono. The face seemed as young as Naruto or Sakura. A recent and badly stitched scar adorned his cheek. The wound was still livid. The companion to the boy was someone she recognized easily, one of the Demon Brothers, a missing ninja of the Mist.

"You were with the trade official from the Land of Fire in the Wave. I require information from you," the teen said in a rough voice.

"What kind of information could simple mercenaries give that a ninja could not find out?" Yuugao said calmly.

"We have not been inside of the Land of Waves since before Gato took it over and need to have more current information," the boy said.

"Finance Minister Gato?" Sakura asked.

"He is the ruler in fact of Wave while the daimyo is a prisoner," the boy almost spat out.

"And how did you learn this little tidbit of information?" Yuugao said as she narrowed her eyes. This unknown ninja had confirmed her main suspicion from the situation the Wave country. She accessed her chakra for the first time in nearly a month and focused killing intent at the boy.

Both ninja took on a defensive stance.

"You are ninja," he stated.

"Yes. Now, if you want information, you can answer my question. How do you know the Wave daimyo is a captive?" Yuugao nearly growled out. She knew that between them, her team could defeat this pair before her.

The sole Demon Brother tugged on the boy's sleeve and whispered something. The teen nodded.

"Because we helped him do it, before he betrayed us and killed my Master," he said.

* * *

Next Chapter: Acts of Tyranny

* * *

End Notes: I hope this one is still up to standard. I found it acceptable enough to post but was not entirely pleased with it. I had to move the story along.

Yes, I wrote in there that Naruto can cook. I do not believe he lives only on ramen or anything like that. If he only lived on ramen, he would not love it so much when he gets the chance to have some.

A kodachi (lit. child or small sword) is a sword too short to be considered a long sword but too large to be a dagger with a maximum blade length of roughly 59 cm. In the Edo period of Japan, it was the longest blade a non samurai could legally carry. Due to canon Naruto and Sakura being just under five feet tall at this point, it is appropriate size for them to use.

Review Notes:  
To Dan, reviewing anonymously – I had Jiraiya say a jonin level of control first to impress on Naruto that the jutsu is not a game. It is a serious jutsu that can have serious consequences. Yes, Naruto can spam clones all day long but Jiraiya acted as a mentor first by saying what a normal person needs if you lack the needed chakra. Regarding Naruto, his being a jinchuuriki was not intended to be used as a weapon first. I have felt that he was meant to contain the demon and use it if needed.

Akatsuki has not yet appeared but they will in time.

Authors Rant:  
Kishimoto, WTF? A chance to expand on Naruto's canon character and add a touch of romance and he disses Hinata for fraking ramen? Then he gets sent to Monster Island to meet his dark side? That half of him had better have at least noticed what his personal stalker got going on under that coat.


	18. Tyranny and Preparation

**Tyranny and Preparation**

Sarutobi had been having a quiet and peaceful morning. That changed when his personal team returned from the Wave country. A request to meet with the Hokage, Morino Ibiki of T&I and a representative of the Daimyo was enough to ruin anyone's morning. A single foreign ninja sat at the table wearing a loaned outfit of a peasant's shirt and pants. Apparently, he knew that bringing hidden weapons would not be the best idea to show good faith.

"I am only here on a promise of safe conduct from your purple haired jonin," the teen stated. "She stated that you would want information I have before we could enter into negotiations to achieve my own objective. I wish the death of the man named Gato. You wish the safety and freedom of the daimyo of Wave. Those two ends are in alignment and working together would be beneficial for us both. If that is not something you desire, I shall leave in peace as I came. Your word on the matter is sufficient for me, Hoakge-sama."

The Daimyo's representative looked to Sarutobi. "I would like to hear what the boy has to say. The Daimyo is lacking in information on the status of his cousin."

Sarutobi nodded. "I give my word that unless you personally have committed a crime against Konoha or her ninja, you will be free to leave the village unharmed and unimpeded."

The teen nodded and composed himself before speaking.

"My given name is Haku. I was the apprentice and weapon of my master, Momochi Zabuza. Several months ago, we were hired by Gato to do several jobs for him. We strong-armed several shipping companies in the Wave Country to sell out to Gato. Once he saw how much wealth could flow through that region, he offered us several more jobs. The first was accomplished by a pair of ninja working for us named the Demon Brothers. They were to kill a bridge builder who had the blessings of the Wave daimyo to construct a bridge from the island to the mainland."

Sarutobi stopped Haku at this point. "A squad of my ninja was killed along with that bridge builder," he stated in a flat voice.

Haku nodded. "Yes, I am aware of that fact, Hokage-sama. For that reason, my surviving companion has not come with me to this meeting. As I have never been in contact with a Konoha ninja before meeting your team a few days ago, I have not committed a crime under your own laws."

Ibiki grunted at that and merely frowned. He could tell the teen before him had not lied yet but also he was hiding a lot. He would just bide his time. "Please, continue," he asked in a civil voice.

"Once the bridge builder was disposed of, that left the bridge project in jeopardy. Gato used his money and influence to buy the unfinished structure from the daimyo and have it completed. During the weeks prior to its completion, my Master was well paid to handle a several small jobs within the Wave that left a good number of its most vital services under Gato's control. Companies that handled shipping all were controlled by men who worked for Gato. Minor officials were bought off and Gato's name was suggested as a replacement for the Finance Minister's position after the man in the job retired suddenly."

"With his new position, he was able to use his mercenaries and us ninja to capture the Wave daimyo and make him a captive in his own residence. No one goes in or out of there now without Gato's approval and Gato began to handle all day to day business of the country."

"By this point, my Master was becoming uneasy. We had been in one place for too long. The pay had been worth it and we would be able to afford his plan to overthrow the Yondaime Mizukage and end the civil war in the Water Country with what had been accumulated. Gato suggested converting out funds into hard assets and precious metals as it would go further in a war torn land than normal money. He mentioned wanting to be in a prime position to benefit from an agreement with the future ruler of Kiri."

Haku paused and looked down. "We had become complacent in our living arrangements. We still looked out for enemy shinobi but failed to notice what was going on beneath our feet. A day later, the residence we were using was blown to bits by commercial explosives that Gato had placed under the building by a tunnel. With no chakra involved, we had no warning. Out of eight people there, only Gozu and myself escaped the blast alive. I had been badly wounded and remained unconscious for days as Gozu tended to my wounds."

The air became colder as Haku spoke in angry tones. "He sent the head of my Master to Kiri for the bounty placed on him. My Master's sword now decorates the wall of Gato's office as a trophy. The man had a good reason to suggest converting our funds as precious metals survived the blast unharmed and he took it all back into his coffers."

Sarutobi noted the chill in the air. "You have a bloodline, don't you," he said in a soft but cautious voice.

Haku noticed his effect on the air and relaxed. "Yes, Hokage-sama. I have a bloodline affinity to create ice. But that is irrelevant right now. I have more detailed information than the summary I have told you. If it is possible for us to work together to destroy Gato, I will divulge as much as I can recall on the relevant subjects. If you do not wish for my aid, I shall depart and find my own means to destroy Gato."

* * *

Yuugao looked over Sakura and Naruto. The teens were glad to be back at proper ninja training once more. The debriefing from the mission had taken several days. Naruto found that his own observed details were lacking when compared to those of Yuugao and Sakura. The jonin promised to train him better in being able to observe more accurately.

The month they had been out of Konoha had led to a number of changes. The damaged main wall had been repaired and the small area of the village that had taken damage was well on its way to being repaired as well. In Oto, the Sound village, a new unknown jonin had taken control and ruled it as Oyabun-Jonin. The term being that of a Yakuza did not sit well with many. It was assumed he would not live very long. Even so the Sound village paid a large amount in gold and silver, and turned over all of Orochimaru's private information and known hideouts to prevent military destruction by Konoha. An undeclared truce stood between Konoha and Oto for the moment

A council of elders had taken control of the Sand village and sued for peace. In spite of the opportunity to exact heavy reparations from Suna, the Hokage instead imposed very light ones. He realized that further weakening or destroying the Sand village would be bad for Konoha in the long run. They were the southern bulwark against the Earth County and Iwa, the Stone village. Without Suna's power and influence, Iwa would quickly push through the Land of Birds and conquer the Wind Country. The Daimyo had made it clear he wished for that not to happen.

A number of the people Naruto and Sakura knew were also filling new roles. Neji had assumed acting chunin status when Team 8 was doing D-rank missions and Shikamaru had the same duties on Team 10. Sasuke was still in therapy with mixed results. However, the full knowledge of what he had been through during the Uchiha massacre was now publicly known. It made the civilians girls swoon over how brave Sasuke was to withstand such torture while many ninja just wondered how the boy managed to hide that much mental damage. Ino had traveled to the Sand with the blessing of her parents to be with Gaara and act as an aide to a new ambassador in Suna. The ambassador's unofficial purpose was merely to keep an eye on Suna and report back whatever happened to Konoha. Poor Hinata had healed physically as much as she could but remained broken mentally.

They knew little of what had been said during the Hokage's talk with Haku; only that he was staying in a small building in the military section of town. Their leader had made it extremely clear that they were not to speak of Haku to anyone. In spite of that, the genin knew something involving the Land of Waves would happen sooner rather than later.

* * *

"Yuugao-sensei," Naruto said without a hint of whining in his voice for once. "Why can't we get another mission already?"

Yuugao arched an eyebrow at the blonde boy. "Do you _want_ to be assigned to some of those D-ranks like the other genin, Naruto?"

Naruto paled and just said 'no' and left it at that. He returned to doing the sword forms Yuugao had him and Sakura practicing with today.

"Baka," Sakura said with a chuckle. "You know that higher ranked missions are given over to chunin. There are only so many C-ranks or better to go around and we are last on the list to get them unless Hokage-sama wants us specifically."

Sakura swung her bokken at Naruto's side but the blonde deflected the blow downward. His riposte upward missed as Sakura slid back a few steps out of range. Her next attack came high at his head but Naruto managed to avoid it and thrust the point of his own bokken at her chest. She knocked the point away and stepped closer to the blonde and swung low. The wooden blade caught Naruto hard on the inside of his forward thigh and numbed the muscles but Naruto caught Sakura at the waist with a near simultaneous blow.

"Both dead," Yuugao called out. Naruto was about to protest when the jonin continued. "Sakura's blow would have cut your femoral artery, Naruto. You would have bled out in less than three minutes."

Naruto grumbled but listened as both teens got into a ready position once more.

Neither genin seemed to notice the man moving in the trees. Yuugao's eye twitched but she did nothing else. The form leapt at the exercising pair and struck swiftly with his sword, only to decapitate a pair of tree branches. The man spun and blocked one counterstrike by Naruto while dodging Sakura's blow. He followed up and aggressively struck down first Naruto then Sakura as Yuugao merely looked on.

"You took longer to 'die' that time. Both of you managed a counterattack. I am impressed," said Gekkou Hayate with a small nod.

Naruto felt his back and twisted slightly before he was satisfied he was not cut. Hayate had used a dulled training sword but the strikes still hurt like the real thing. This was the second time the man had attacked them during sword practice. Nothing told a novice that you are a novice like having the premiere swordsman of Konoha attack the pair and beat both in less than five blows.

Yuugao strolled over to Hayate and gave him a kiss. "So, you think either one shows promise?" she asked her boyfriend.

"Both do actually. With a lot of work, either of them could be above average swordsmen. However Naruto has an advantage over Sakura with his wind chakra affinity lending itself to bladework. It could make him very deadly with single strike kills," Hayate said in a serious tone.

"Five full speed laps around the training field and you two are done for the day," Yuugao called out to the genin without looking away from Hayate. The pair got up to start running and Yuugao tossed in a jibe. "Naruto, you stay even with or in front of Sakura this time. Last time you ran behind her, you 'died' a half dozen times in the first lap because you were so distracted. You need to focus on what is around you, not just in front of you."

Both teens blushed at their teacher's implied statement and set off running. The teacher strolled off arm in arm with her boyfriend as both were laughing.

* * *

Jiraiya growled as another gambling hall proved to be a dead end. Tsunade was aware he was trying to track her down now and avoiding him. He did not think that she could be this elusive. But after a few moments he smacked his forehead when he realized she could avoid loan sharks and gangsters who she owed money to. The toad sage decided that instead of avoiding those people in his search, he would get them to help him.

The white haired man turned and went back into the hall to inquire the owner who Tsunade owed money to. He had a deal to present to them.

* * *

Training took up a lot of the time Naruto and Sakura had over the next three weeks. Hayate would give them more sword instruction and ambush them at random intervals during their spars. Yuugao worked on the taijutsu and started on several more powerful jutsu with Naruto. His wind affinity left him with a limited arsenal at this point but he managed to learn some beginner wind jutsu, such as the air bullet and gale wind palm, and the first stage of the Wind Blade sword attack that made Hayate famous.

Naruto's incomplete attacks used some wind chakra but it was only a mass of uncontrolled blunt force at this point. Naruto did not have the control to sharpen it yet but Hayate still complimented the teen. The control and sharpening the attacks would come in time. A gale wind palm or sharpened air bullet with wind blades in them would be deadly.

Sakura improved her impressive taijutsu attacks. When she merged the sword attacks with her kicking style, she could hold off Hayate for nearly fifteen seconds with him holding back slightly.

Hayate declared that both teens knew all the training katas of the style now but encouraged them to continue to work at them until the motions had become second nature. The only improvement they could accomplish now would be from experience and learning the things that life and death battles could teach. Naruto felt that he was great after Hayate's pronouncement until the jonin beat him in seconds a dozen times in a row.

"Naruto there is a difference in knowing the moves and using them to best effect. You know them but even I do not claim to be a full master of this style. I have learned from teaching both you and Sakura. I hold a master's rank but if I studied and fought for a century, I still would learn something from my next opponent. That is the way of the sword."

A humbled and bloody Naruto agreed.

* * *

Sarutobi looked at his personal team. Naruto had grown his hair out some and looked much more like Minato's picture on the wall. He kept the charcoal gray version of his old orange outfit but it was noticeably less baggy on him now.

Sakura kept her outfit the same from the previous visit as well. The pants looked a bit tighter but that was from her curves growing than anything else. The items she had on her utility belt now included a set of brass knuckles in a leather case along with her fanny pack weapons and whatever hidden items she carried. Both genin proudly wore the kodachi slung across their backs. They had trained with and earned the right to carry the blades. Yuugao herself had improved as well to the aged leader's view. Her eyes after the Oto bandit camp raid had been haunted but now they clearly shone with life once more. Being away from that more intense life of ANBU had been good for her. His mood darkened knowing what he was about to do but he kept his face impassive.

"I have a mission for you. Right now we are keeping the situation in Wave a secret with a minimum of leaks. Since this team knows what is going on, I have decided you would be best suited to include in this. By using this team, I keep the number of people who know from growing."

"You are to proceed to the Fire Country side of the Wave Bridge and meet with a contact there. As far as we know, they are legitimate but you should be aware of possible betrayal. Once you meet with the contact, you might be accompanying the contact into the Wave itself once more. As your three are known as a mercenary swordsman and her apprentices, you will resume that cover. You should be in position within three days to meet the contact. Once you have met with your contact, Yuugao may open this."

Sarutobi handed Yuugao a sealed letter with a seal she recognized on it. It was something used on ANBU missions when ninja went out blind to the mission objectives until in the required place and time. A captured ninja could not tell what they did not know. She hid her frown but she knew they were going to be involved in a major operation shortly.

"Sir?" she said in a questioning voice.

The Hokage just stared at her.

"I understand," she said after a number of seconds passed. Yuugao ushered Naruto and Sakura out of the office.

Sarutobi just closed his eyes and rubbed his face. With no one but his personal ANBU guards nearby, he could be human for a few moments. They already knew everything he did about this operation. The aged leader looked at a list of some thirty names. Two full ANBU squads, several chunin squads and a number of undercover operatives were also involved in this and no single team knew who the others were yet or even that they were all on the same mission. Once more, the leader had to toss his subordinates into the fire and hope they would survive. It was the weight a leader had to bear.

All the Hokage could do now was wait and hope.

* * *

Yuugao took Naruto and Sakura with her to visit Hiro. She had a plan but she would need some other help getting the equipment together. Hiro would have the resources she lacked in that department.

The shop owner greeted the trio warmly but noted the dark look on Yuugao's face and motioned to a helper to watch the store and went into the back.

"What's up?" he asked once the door was closed.

"A mission. We need to go back to Wave in the cover we used last time." Yuugao glanced at her students before continuing. "It's bigger than us and we need an anonymous equipment drop set up."

Hiro was surprised. His people had heard nothing on the grapevine about any major ops going down.

"What kind of equipment are you going to need?" he asked.

Yuugao outlined what she felt they might need if they got burned; body armor, weapons, and other special equipment like explosive tags, first aid kits and food pills, all untraceable to Konoha. They needed it on short notice and packed into as small a pack as he could manage.

"What kind of delivery method did you planning on using?" Hiro asked.

She glanced at her students, "Animal Summons."

Hiro nodded while both teens looked confused.

"I picked my mask back in ANBU for a reason," Yuugao said. "Just like Kakashi has his personal dog summons, I have my cats. They tend to be little more than lookouts but they blend in anywhere. My big street tabby will complain about living in that kennel for weeks and be a real pain for months afterwards but better safe than sorry."

The proceedings went quickly after that. Hiro had both teens sized and in copies of body armor within an hour. They looked like ANBU without the masks wearing it. Once the equipment was off and they were getting ready to get their mercenary clothes out of storage did either teen ask what was happening.

She looked at her students with a direct look, first one then the other.

"It's just like what you did with Root, just with a little more preparation," she said honestly.

* * *

Yuugao got the room at the inn near the Wave Bridge two days later. The three sword bearing mercenaries looked tired and dirty but otherwise normal for the trade. Their normal ninja equipment had been packed along with the armor and supplies Yuugao had gotten from Hiro. The jonin had brought a large box and one of the biggest alley cats Naruto had ever seen to Hiro's shop. The boy was surprised when he recognized the cat.

_"I used to feed that guy once in a while!" he cried out._

_The cat looked at him and spoke, "While you didn't need to, I still appreciate it, Naruto."_

_The boy froze and pointed. "The cat talked."_

_"Naruto, you remember Kakashi's dog Pakkun, right? He talked as well," Sakura reminded him._

_"I know, it just took me by surprise," Naruto said as he pouted._

Night settled over the inn and the undercover ninja were in their room relaxing. A knock at the door eventually came but no one stood there when the door was opened. On the hall floor sat a trio of coupons to a nearby food stand. Sakura looked down the hall and saw another door open and someone else look out. They also had received a coupon. The man crumbled it up and tossed it back to the floor.

"That is one way to drum up business," Sakura commented.

"It bears checking out anyhow," Yuugao said. "Besides, we have not eaten yet."

Yuugao led the team out and paused to pick up the crumbled coupon as she walked. As they passed out of the building, Naruto noticed a boy about ten years old looking at them and holding a number of coupons heading down a hallway.

The team leader slowly opened the crumbled coupon and looked at it. It was fairly non-descript and used a handmade stamp on plain paper. She noted it was for a low end meal. Yuugao looked at the ones they had received. It was for a much more expensive meal, a 'Cooks' Special'. This deserved following up on.

She sent Naruto back to grab another coupon off the floor in front of a room door. The coupon matched the crumbled one. Their coupons were different.

"I think we have just been contacted. Stay alert," she told the teens.

Yuugao pulled out the letter the Hokage had given them and applied chakra to the seal. The letter opened and only contained a name and four words. Yuugao committed them to memory and in less than a minute the paper had degraded and fallen to dust.

The food stand turned out to be relatively new, like most of the other buildings here. None of them had existed before the bridge had been built. Even so, the stand had a look like it could be taken down and moved to another location if needed. Businesses went where money could be made. The name on the stand matched the name from the sealed letter.

A few seats were open so the team sat down. A short dark haired lady in her late twenties welcomed them. "I am Tsunami, welcome to my stand. What can I get for you today?"

Yuugao presented the coupons. The woman smiled as she took them and went to prepare the food. As the minutes passed, the boy they had seen in the inn entered the back of the stand and looked at them. He went to the woman and spoke to her. After a nod, Tsunami began to fill bowls with the food she had prepared.

The food looked and tasted like any other quickly prepared stand food. "I hope you enjoy the meal. It is not often that we get such adept swordsman visit this stand. I hope it meets your standards," Tsunami said.

Yuugao recognized the first codeword. She replied, "It should. We have had much worse. But are there any places nearby for sightseeing?"

The woman's eyebrow rose a bit. "There are a few things to see but none on this side of the water. You might even say people are lining up to see the tide roll in and watch the eddies."

Sakura and Naruto knew something was going on with the conversation but both wisely remained silent.

Yuugao nodded. "Eddies are nice but whirlpools are much more impressive to watch. Thank you for the meal." Yuugao put payment for dinner on the counter.

"Thank you for coming to my stand. If you need anything else to eat, please return. We can also deliver to the inn if you like. Breakfast is very popular," Tsunami finished.

"Perhaps. If we cannot find work in the next day or two we will have to move on," Yuugao finished and motioned the teens away from the stand. They headed back to the inn.

Once back in the room, the trio huddled close and spoke in hushed tones. "We will get contacted with further information in the morning. The woman was our initial contact point."

"The conversation you had. I recall from the Academy about passing code words to establish legitimacy," Sakura said.

Yuugao nodded. "Now that we have made initial contact, we wait for the second one with information on a meeting place." The jonin then barred the door like any other mercenary would and told her students to get some sleep.

Dawn came slowly. The fog common in that part of the coast rolled in thick during the night. The only indication of the sun being over the horizon was the fog going from a dark gray shroud to a white shroud over everything.

A knock on the door woke the teens. Swords were out and ready in seconds. Yuugao smiled at the reaction. She unbarred the door and opened it. The stand owner Tsunami stood there with her son and both held food delivery bags.

"We are taking a risk but the situation is a difficult one. The next stage of your mission is to go meet an old man about five miles north on the coast near a tree that has no business being along the coast road. Tell him I sent you to see the eddies. He has a small boat that can take you to the island. You must be there before the fog lifts or he will not wait for you. Beyond that, I know nothing," Tsunami added in as an afterthought.

Yuugao merely nodded and took the bags of food. She pulled out a number of extra coins that were recognized for payment in any country, not just the Land of Fire, and handed them to the cook. Tsunami bowed and quickly left.

Naruto felt his stomach growl and peeked into the bag closest to him. The smell was nearly as inviting at ramen.

"We need to leave quickly. We leave the bags here," Yuugao stated.

The blonde teen looked up at Yuugao with puppy eyes.

"Naruto, the food was just an excuse to come here and relay the information," the jonin insisted.

The boy's eyes became teary and his bottom lip quivered slightly. Sakura rolled her eyes at the boy's antics but she could not take the pleading look and turned away before giving in. Their teacher was made of sterner stuff and glared.

"We need to be out of here before the fog lifts, Naruto. We don't have time for breakfast here," she grumbled as her own stomach was making itself known.

"I'll carry it," the boy insisted. "I know we can't seal things up or I would offer to do that. If we just leave it behind it would bring more scrutiny on this cook lady. We need to take it with us."

Yuugao growled but nodded curtly to get the boy moving. His usage of a word like 'scrutiny' alone was a sign he was using his head so she could see the food as a reward for that.

'I'm getting soft if I give in on something like this. Damn kids,' she finished. Yuugao would have been shocked to see the wry smile that graced her lips as she finished her thought.

* * *

The trio of undercover ninja trotted in silence down the road heading north along the coast. The moved as fast as they could without using chakra in case they ran into any troops. It took them a half hour to reach the five mile point and they saw a single pine tree come into view out of the murky fog.

"This should be it," the jonin said in a low voice as they stopped under the tree.

"Who are you?" sounded a question from a voice near the water.

"Some travelers who would like to see the eddies," Yuugao replied.

An old man appeared out of the mist. "You're late. The fog has almost lifted and the tide is about to turn. We will barely make it back while it is still clear."

The three ninja followed the man down to the water to see a narrow boat. "Get in and be quick about it," the man muttered. Naruto got in first still carrying the bags of food but even those had not made a sound as he followed instructions. Sakura and Yuugao got in after and settled low in the boat.

"Boy, take the paddle there and use it on your left side. Be silent as you use it. I will match you and steer from the back. You helping will get us there faster," the old man said in a barely heard voice.

Naruto did as he was told and paddled the boat as instructed. The fog stayed over them but it was noticeably less dense as the trip went on. They finally saw the darker gray that meant land appear and the man grunted in satisfaction.

This part of the coast was rocky with a slight cliff that rose above them boat. The top had a watchtower on it but the ninja could not spot anyone on it. The old man ignored it as he steered them closer. He steered them into a cave that was little more than a crack in the rocks. The ninja were required to duck below the edge of the boat to pass through the crack. Sakura noticed on the rocks that it was near low tide. The marks higher up on the rock face showed the crack would be covered during high tide.

The man paddled the boat through the narrow passage with practiced ease until they came to a grotto. A steel door was hung to one side that could be closed to protect the area in the event of a storm. Light filtered down from a crack in the ceiling of it and lit the area. Stone steps carved out of the rock were on the far side to make a dock with a passage running deeper into the darkness.

"We are here," the man said simply as he tied the boat to an anchor post and climbed out. "What's in the bag, boy?"

"Some take out the lady who told us about you brought for us," Naruto replied nervously.

The man gestured for Naruto to give it to him. After getting it, the man walked off down the dark passage with a gesture for the trio to follow. Occasional pools of light from overhead broke the darkness as they followed along. Naruto and Sakura both shivered slightly as it bore an eerie similarity to the Root warren. The old man came to a closed metal door and knocked on it in a code sequence. It opened with a smooth silence that proved it was maintained.

Yuugao peered through the door before following into a well lit open area. It was still underground but the walls were finished stone and had faded spirals on them. The sounds of people further beyond the doorway were clearly heard. Her eyes widened when she recognized several people in the room.

"What's all this?" she muttered. Several people she knew that were Konoha ninja were dressed as plain mercenaries; much like her team. She knew a major operation was happening but this was more than she expected.

"Ah, the last group has arrived. Yuugao, you look surprised to see us," said the man she knew as Rooster in ANBU.

"I'm very surprised, since we have no clue what the true mission is or even where we are.," the purple haired jonin replied.

"That is easy. We are standing in a sublevel basement under the ruins of Uzushiogakure. (The Village Hidden in the Eddies) The mission will be to free the daimyo of the Land of Waves," Rooster said.

* * *

Next Chapter: Waves, Wind and Whirlpools

* * *

**End Notes:**  
I tried to put in some recent revelations from the manga into the story. The Eddy Village using the translation to the American and that the Wave was known as the Land of Whirlpools a generation before. I assumed that since the Leaf were on good terms with the destroyed village they would use it as a staging area.

**Review Notes:**  
I welcome the new readers and their comments are mostly addressed in previous Review Notes. There were not a lot of points relating to chapter 17 made but I will address a few that were made.

I made note that Sarutobi would be making promotions three in story months after the team shuffle. At the time the end of this chapter, that is still one month away in story.

As far as the ramen while I think while it is a tasty dish, I feel a good part of Naruto's love for it is due to the people who make it. Food made the same in various places always seems to taste better when the person making it cares about you.

The overall problem with Naruto and his shadow clones is the same as with the power of the Kyuubi. It unbalances things so much that to combat it, Kishi needed to keep upping the power against Naruto. I am trying to tone that down some in my stories but I am aware that Naruto could literally be an army by himself.

With regards to how peope teach him, in this story they do not want Naruto to draw attention to himself like that. Canon shows that other groups and countries are not aware exactly where the Kyuubi has disappeared to. Both of the previous junchuriki of the Kyuubi were not publicly known. Naruto is only known within Konoha due to the blatantly obvious sealing of him by the Yondaime.

Ed - Posted 7/30/10


	19. Waves, Wind and Whirlpools

**Wave, Wind and Whirlpools**

_Yuugao peered through the door before following into a well lit open area. It was still underground but the walls were finished stone and had faded spirals on them. The sounds of people further beyond the doorway were clearly heard. Her eyes widened when she recognized several people in the room._

"_What's all this?" she muttered. Several people she knew that were Konoha ninja were dressed as plain mercenaries; much like her team. She knew a major operation was happening but this was more than she expected._

"_Ah, the last group has arrived. Yuugao, you look surprised to see us," said the man she knew as Rooster in ANBU._

"_I'm very surprised, since we have no clue what the mission is or even where we are.," the purple haired jonin replied._

"_That is easy. We are standing a sublevel basement under the ruins of Uzushiogakure. (The Village Hidden in the Eddies) The mission will be to free the daimyo of the Land of Waves," Rooster said._

* * *

Sakura looked at the people in the room around her. She was not sure what to make of the entire situation. The fact they were in the ruins of a hidden village was something she could accept. But being told they would be involved in the rescue of a daimyo was something way out of her pay grade.

"Why us?" she asked. "We're still just genin." She pointed to Naruto and herself.

The man named Rooster nodded in reply. "I am aware you are both still genin. However, the pair of you represent the best intelligence we have on the daimyo's compound. I read the debriefing on your last mission. The details were impressive but any other information we have is badly out of date. By having the pair of you along with us, you could point out anything major that has changed since your visit to the daimyo's compound. There is a massive building program going on in the Wave and dozens of new buildings and fields have been reported in the months since our last mission here. More have been begun since your visit a few weeks ago. We have avoided scouting much further into the interior until the entire team was assembled."

"The overall objective is simple. Tonight, we get to the daimyo and free him by any means necessary."

Naruto looked over the room after Rooster talked to Sakura. The walls of the room were bothering him. The faded designs seemed familiar to him. He walked to the closest one and brushed the dust off. Once cleaned, the gray white spiral symbol stood out on the wall. He could only stare at it in silence before he glanced down at his left sleeve where the identical symbol would have been if he was wearing his ninja gear.

The Old Man had given him the sleeve patch years before. It had happened after he saw the other students in his class all begin to wear their clan's symbols on their clothing. He had asked the Hokage why he couldn't have one. He had wanted to be like the other kids; to have a family, a heritage that he could be proud of. Naruto was just an orphan and the civilians seemed to love to remind him of that fact. He had no family.

Now, standing here in this ruined basement, he had seen something that had long ached in his heart. Uzushiogakure the man had said. The Village Hidden in the Whirling Tides, the Eddy Village, these were just words to him but with each moment his mind made connections. Uzumaki meant spiral or whirlpool. Naruto meant maelstrom but it was also a special fishcake that was formed in a spiral design. Now, seeing the symbol the Hokage had given him to wear on his sleeve displayed again and again on the walls of this basement made him realize one thing.

This was _his_ place. This was where he would have belonged.

"This place is where I'm from," he murmured.

Yuugao was standing behind him and said quietly, "No Naruto. This is where some of your ancestors came from but your home is Konoha."

Naruto turned startled at the voice behind him.

"Yuugao-sensei, please," he begged. "Do you know anything about this that you can tell me?"

Yuugao looked around the room wishing she did not have to bring this up now. There were a few of the military ninja and undercover civilians in the room that might not know of Naruto's secret. The jonin motioned for Naruto to follow her. Sakura began to follow as well but Yuugao held up her hand to stop her.

"Can Sakura-chan come as well, Sensei? I would end up telling her eventually anyway," Naruto asked.

After a moment's pause, Yuugao motioned for Sakura to come as well.

"Rooster, is there a place I can talk to my students in private?" Yuugao asked the unmasked man.

The man nodded and led the team down a damaged hallway past several smaller rooms to one with a blanket over the door.

"This is where the women have been sleeping since we arrived. It is as private as it is going to get here," he said as he left.

Yuugao took a few breaths to calm herself before speaking.

"Naruto, I cannot tell you everything because a lot of your personal history is classified due to the Kyuubi. The Hokage and ANBU know more than everyone else due to our needing to know. What do you already know?"

"The Old Man, the Hokage told me my parents are both dead; that they died during the Kyuubi attack the day I was born." Naruto gestured to another spiral on the wall. "He gave me that symbol a few years ago when I asked about them after the Academy students were allowed to wear their clan and family symbols on their clothes. He said it was mine by right. Now, it is all over these ruins."

Yuugao thought for a moment before speaking again.

"Konoha and Uzushio were allies years ago, Naruto. Konoha was the first hidden village to be created. The Senju and the Uchiha banded together and invited other clans to join them in founding our home. One of the invited clans, the Uzumaki, declined and remained in their home territory. They called it the Land of Whirlpool. One of the Uzumaki married the First Hokage to solidify the alliance. They were powerful seal makers and feared by many. Their seals helped create the jinchuuriki of the tailed beasts."

"I don't know for certain who destroyed it but other villages and clans did not want Uzushio and the Uzumaki to gain more power. It was destroyed more than a generation ago and the residents of Uzushio killed off or scattered. The Wave country was founded more recently and is a poor nation still trying to recover from the devastation left behind by the destruction of the Land of Whirlpool. Konoha remembers their fallen ally with the blood red symbol of Whirlpool on the back of the chunin and jonin vests."

Naruto sat and thought. "So, my parents were survivors of Uzushio?" he asked.

"I cannot go into details on that without permission from the Hokage himself, Naruto. I'm sorry," Yuugao replied firmly.

Naruto frowned glumly. He had asked the Hokage a number of times over the years about his parents. The only definite answer he ever got from the Old Man was that they loved him and that they had died the night of the Kyuubi attack. As he considered that, he realized the Hokage never said that he didn't know. He only deflected Naruto's question or gave a distraction like offering to talk about it over ramen then never bringing it up during the meal. Technically, the Old Man had never lied to him but even so Naruto was slightly hurt.

"Naruto, if the Hokage had told you things before this, say a year ago, what would you have done?" Yuugao asked candidly. "You would have yelled it out from the top of the mountain and to anyone who would listen. Your heritage is secret for a reason you will understand one day. I hope when you know you will see the reasons for it. The Hokage has told you time and time again that they loved you and wanted you in their life. Focus on that fact and let the rest pass. I assure you that you _will_ be told one day."

Sakura lightly shoved Naruto on the shoulder. "Look at it this way Naruto. You have to be important. You have a blood relationship to both the First and Second Hokage and one of the Sannin. There are people in the Fire Country that would kill their best friend for a claim like that."

The pink haired girl then looked at her teacher with a sly grin. "Plus, there is something even better happening here. You are all alone in a girl's room with two hot kunoichi with the 'door' closed."

Naruto lost focus on what Yuugao had told him as Sakura's statement entered his mind. His poor hormone ridden brain suddenly shut down as mental images danced in his head.

Yuugao chuckled at the distraction Sakura pulled on the boy. It was almost as good as what the Hokage had pulled off time and again to avoid the parent question. Although she was not so sure she wanted to end up in a teenage boy's fantasies.

"Okay, enough, we have a mission to prep for in a few hours. Let's go get briefed and prepared," the jonin said with authority. Both genin responded to that, even the one who couldn't think straight.

* * *

Naruto finally got to enjoy his breakfast sometime around noon. The food might have cooled off but it was still good when reheated. To the delight of all the people in the hideout, the team had passed some to everyone. Field rations and jutsu cooked rice and fish were terrible but the taste of a few bites of real food buoyed everyone's spirits. Even the boatman frowned slightly less after getting his share.

"There is a weather front moving in tonight. Our plan is to make our way to the daimyo's residence before it strikes, free him and escape with the storm to cover the tracks. We will remain in civilian and mercenary clothing in the event we are detected. It is vital that neither Konoha nor the Land of Fire are directly implicated in this operation. We have contact with someone who will cause a distraction once the weather hits to aid our escape."

Rooster placed a map on the table. "Patrol routes of the local forces have been scouted out by Team Shinji." The ANBU operative pointed to a young team of chunin. "The patrol times are consistent and follow the same pattern. They should be easy enough to avoid on the way in. The ANBU scouts who have managed to get close enough to the compound have said that the mercenary guards are supported by several high chunin level ninja of unknown origin. Those ninja patrol at random times and evidence suggests there might be a sensor type working there. That means we need use no chakra in our approach. If we blow cover early this mission will fail."

"Initial penetration will be made by my team with Team Yuugao in support of us." Rooster looked at Sakura and Naruto. "If anything is different than you remember, let me or a teammate know at once."

The teens nodded in understanding.

Rooster held up a photo. It showed a close up view of a well dressed man and woman in wedding clothes. "This is the daimyo and his wife at his wedding two years ago. This is the most recent picture we could obtain. We will attempt to bring both out but in this case, the daimyo is the primary consideration and his wife is the secondary one. If we are forced to choose between them, we rescue the daimyo."

Sakura frowned at that but understood. The woman seemed familiar but she could not place her. The heavy wedding make-up obscured the woman's features.

"Note his distinctive scar on his left eyebrow and the one on his chin. Sight recognition is important as we will have limited time before the weather front arrives."

* * *

Naruto bit his lip as another ant bit his toe. He had been standing with one foot on an anthill for five minutes now as the patrol he had been hiding from meandered through their route. The path took the horsemen along the highest ground in the immediate area and any movement by the ninja would be spotted. The patrol leader seemed slightly more menacing to Naruto but he could not access his chakra to use his own abilities without moving and giving away his position.

The teen had pulled a gray cloth over his brightly colored hair and tied it on with a piece of string. He could see an equally motionless Sakura had done the same with her pink hair. Months of training in keeping their heads covered was coming in handy for once as opposed to simply being an annoyance.

The patrol finally passed behind a hill and the ninja could move ahead once more. They have covered about half the distance to the daimyo's compound when a problem arose. The weather front was going to arrive early. The wind had picked up and dark clouds covered the horizon. The ocean was still in sight off to one side and the waves had picked up greatly. Evacuation would be more difficult now.

Yuugao picked the way through another salt marsh as the two dozen ninja filtered closer to the compound. The lone civilian guide had long since been left behind. She was not happy with this mission. Killing for a ninja could not be helped but at least this time it would not be taking down sleeping enemies like cattle at a slaughterhouse. She didn't want to execute anyone but that would not stop her from doing her duty.

The last mile to the daimyo's compound was accomplished under a light rain with heavy thunderstorms moving closer behind it. The storm front was now over the narrow strip of water between the Wave and Fire countries. No matter what happened tonight, they would not be able to evacuate the daimyo from the island. The ninja noticed the guards taking shelter from the incoming storm and prepared to attack.

* * *

Shinji prepared his weapons carefully and noted that Kenji and Suki were looking at him for instructions. They were all equal as chunin but the pair had always looked to him for their lead. This was their first major mission as chunin and hoped it would go well. Their own part in this mission had been boring up until now. They had been in country for over a month now. Once they had received the mission, they knew that it was important but the orders had been clear. They would find a base of operations and scout out the military and infrastructure of the Land of Waves.

Suki had suggested the ruins as a base. She was a history buff and knew that it had been a ninja village at one time. The traps had long since fallen into disrepair and finding numerous intact basements and cisterns had been relatively easy. The sheltered escape passage to the sea was a bonus as was the old hermit who lived there. He rarely spoke when asked questions but merely gave the minimal amount needed. Shinji never pushed the man but he had merely begun aiding them with no other word being said.

The team had spent long hours merely sitting under cover watching the patrols wind through the hills and valleys of the island nation. They noted few holes in the patrols but the timing could be an issue for them. The routes were constant but the schedule was not. The real problem with their mission to this point had been food. Their field rations would keep them alive but they had a limit. The old hermit showed them places nearby where the team would find sea life they could eat with no problems.

The ANBU named Rooster and his team had arrived a week earlier and they had gone over the information Team Shinji had collected. The captain had quickly decided the plans based on the data and told the team they had done their initial mission properly. There would be additional assets arriving soon. Kenji noted that throughout the entire buildup that there were no Elites and no clan ninja involved in this mission. The group decided then that it would be a quiet and dirty operation.

Suki motioned to him and pulled Shinji out of his reminiscing.

"The spearhead team is about to force the wall," she said as she tightened her belt over her peasant tunic She looked unhappy but the clothes of a mercenary fit the mission. They could not be identified on sight as ninja. They would not use jutsu unless cornered and all the enemy who witnessed a jutsu had to be eliminated. Those were the orders.

"Hold until the signal is received then we move up to hold the exit point until the insertion team returns," Shinji reminded his teammates. "The second set of teams will remain on outside patrol and kill anyone who tries to stop us."

* * *

Naruto and Sakura followed Rooster up to the wall. The daimyo's compound was not much more than a wooden palisade about eight feet high. Clan houses in Konoha had better defenses but those were ninja. The Wave country was still poor and could not house the daimyo in a castle as yet. So far, the blonde could not see any difference from his memories. He held back a curse as he slipped in the mud the light rain had caused. He then held back a smile as Rooster slid some as well. If they had been allowed to use any chakra, neither would have slipped at all.

The rain increased to a downpour as the four person ANBU team hoisted two members over the top of the palisade wall and onto the ledge on the interior. The closest guard towers were hidden by the rain and darkness. One hooked a rope ladder and dropped it over the wall. Sakura went over followed by Yuugao and Naruto third. The remaining pair of ANBU signaled the nearby Team Shinji to move up and climbed over.

Naruto noticed the chunin team move up and scale the ladder after which it was pulled up and over the wall. Yuugao got his attention back on mission as the group of ninja disguised as mercenaries moved deeper into the compound under the cover of the early heavy rain. Sakura pointed out landmarks to Rooster. She made a note that nothing in the compound seemed to be different. If nothing else, the landscaping was more withered and overgrown that it had been a month before. The strike leader nodded then oriented himself and led the way to the daimyo's building.

The daimyo's private residence was a two story building with many rooms. The lower floor was much larger and served as his meeting place for officials in the front with a service area in the rear. The upper was strictly for the daimyo's use and centered above the main floor. A guard patrol could be seen moving in the shadows. The second floor windows had been covered over to mere slits and no person would be able to slip through those before being seen. The team would need to enter on the main floor. The servant areas near the rear had fewer guards but the servants being more random would mean an equal chance of discovery. Information from a civilian working with Konoha had gotten the team a rough sketch of the floor plan.

* * *

Rooster stalked silently up behind a servant and with a practiced motion rendered the man unconscious without a sound. His teammate moved up to the next one and did the same. He knew this was going well but he did not get excited over the fact. He had trained too long and seen too much to assume there would be no problems. It was only a matter of time until something went wrong was a realistic way to look at any mission.

He motioned to his teammate and they retreated with the unconscious servants as they heard footsteps approaching. The roaming patrols inside the building were loud and well armed. Rooster reminded himself to stick to the plan. A door opening on the floor above creaked over the sound of rain on the building. The stairway was a choke point and a problem for them but one they had trained for in ANBU.

Seconds passed as he waited for the next patrol to move past. Rooster took the time to consult with Team Yuugao but they knew nothing of this part of the building. The mission notes said the daimyo's room was overhead. Hopefully, even Gato would not be so foolish as to dispose of the legal ruler of Wave so soon after secretly taking power. Doing so and being found out would never allow him to gain any sort of legitimacy in the other countries. Ruling in the Elemental Countries was a combination of perception and tradition. Countries would be carved out by force of arms and fell just as easily. But killing a noble ruler out of hand was just not done. Holding a public execution of some kind was a politically acceptable means assuming power however it was not often done.

Without warning an alarm sounded in the compound. Some guard patrols were heading for the front door while others headed up toward the chambers of the daimyo. Rooster assumed that was their distraction. The patrol of guards turned the corner into a waiting ambush. Time to get to work.

* * *

Minutes before, Haku breathed deeply as the rain was giving him with plenty to work with. He stood at the mainland side of the great bridge and looked toward the island. He stepped forward slowly at first but soon picked up speed into a full run with a single thought in mind.

Revenge.

The length of the bridge soon passed behind him as he approached the first gate. A squad of guard who stood in the rain died as kunai made of ice flew ahead of Haku. The heads all fell separate of the bodies. A ball of ice blew open the gates as the second set of guards set off the alarm before dying as quickly as the first. Haku barely gave them a thought. His kind hearted nature had died the same day as his Master. He had become the perfect weapon Momochi Zabuza had wanted.

The death of the Demon of the Mist had spawned the Demon of the Ice.

Haku walked into the gathering darkness toward the building Gato resided in. The guards that tried to stop him found themselves frozen in place or dead. Few that faced the scarred boy lived to tell the tale.

In the wake of Haku's path of destruction, quiet teams of civilians took control of the vital points in the bridge town from the uniformed soldiers that had died.

* * *

Sakura took the weapons and emptied the pockets of the bodies of the guards that the ANBU team had killed at the back door. She had not been in this area of the compound before so she had nothing to advise the leader on. The nagging feeling she had all day remained with her. The girl knew she should be worried about the daimyo's rescue first but she could not put the wife out of her mind. She could not place where but she felt she was missing something.

Without thinking she pocketed any money or small weapons on the guard. A photograph of the man smiling and holding a woman with a small child was returned to the man's breast pocket. She knew the guard worked for an evil man but even so, she could not help but realize even good men did what was needed for the ones they love. She murmured a quick prayer to Kami for the man's soul and went back to her work as the ANBU brought in a pair of unconscious servants.

"We are going for the daimyo next. Report to your team," the stoic man told her. She reached for the rope and pushed aside what had bothered her to do her job. She bound the servants tightly and headed for the meeting point with Yuugao-sensei.

* * *

Rooster's team arrived at the daimyo's floor in silence. The lamps had already been lit in this area as the storms increased. The four ninja found a dozen guards waiting near the stairway. This would not be an easy kill. It was time for open battle.

Rooster pulled out a small ball shaped object from his pocket and squeezed it before tossing it around the corner. It exploded in a flash but left little smoke. The team raced around the corner with swords bare to attack the mercenary guards, noting several were holding hands to their faces.

The guard captain seeing they were under attack shouted out, "We are under attack! Kill the daimyo!"

He hoped Yuugao had done her part

* * *

The servant's stairs to the daimyo's chamber had only a single pair of guards. It was easy for the trio of Yuugao, Naruto and Sakura to take them out quietly. They had slipped up to the bedroom of the daimyo and found it empty. The connecting door to the man's office was closed but a light was coming through the edges. Sakura looked around the bedroom and noted that the wardrobe for the wife was dusty. This confirmed her thought from earlier.

The muffled whump of a flash bomb sounded and the shout of 'We are under attack! Kill the daimyo' followed after. Yuugao was already through the door out of the bedroom as the sound of a blade being drawn sounded in her wake.

Naruto followed into the office at Yuugao's heels. The purple haired jonin had cut down a single man holding a katana. In a chair sat a man in his middle twenties holding a copy of Icha Icha. Naruto frowned at that but realized that the daimyo would not be working on anything official in his captivity. At least Jiraiya would be happy to hear he had a fan in the nobility.

The trio of ninja looked closely at the man. The identifying scars matched the picture perfectly.

"Daimyo-sama, we are here to free you from Gato's captivity," Yuugao said quickly as the main door opened to show Rooster and one of the others on his team. "Please come with us. Your cousin has been worried about you."

The man hesitated for a moment as he processed the statement before nodding and getting up. The man did not appear to be an athlete but he was still slender with only the hint of thickening in the midsection.

"Where is your wife being held?" Yuugao asked. "We have been charged with freeing her as well."

The man looked away as he spoke, "I have not seen Ayaka since the men of Gato took her away."

The undercover ninja nodded silently as they were familiar with the concept of hostages.

Without warning, Sakura whispered as she saw a picture of the daimyo's wife without her wedding makeup, "No. Her name is Kimiko."

The Wave leader looked at her shocked but nodded slowly.

"I know where she is, Daimyo-sama. Sensei, I know where she is," finished as the girl turned to her leader.

Yuugao looked at Sakura intently for a moment before turning to Rooster. "My team will go retrieve her. Please escort the daimyo to safety. He is not expendable but we are."

Rooster only took a moment before he agreed, "First we get the daimyo out."

The combined teams surrounded the Wave daimyo and traced their steps out of the building and headed for the wall when Team Shinji waited

"You are not going anywhere, mercenary scum," sounded a voice from the darkness.

* * *

Haku walked away from the demolished Ministry of Finance building carrying the sword of his Master. Any guards or militia that he encountered ran from him on sight now. He was getting tired but he continued onward. Gato would not escape from him in the end but today was a different matter. Haku noticed that the military forces had rallied and there appeared to be at least one squad of ninja among them. It was time to retreat for now. The teen walked to a nearby horse and climbed onto its back. He headed for the bridge.

* * *

The short man known as Gato stood under his umbrella looking at the rag tag group before him. The group was organized and professional in spite of their shoddy appearance. He was not pleased in the slightest at this inconvenience. The men he would need to replace would cost him months of profits from this pathetic island.

The power in his residence had gone out shortly before and he decided to investigate. He arrived at the power station to find a group of civilians in charge. His own men were tied up but the additional ones escorting Gato had quickly taken things back over.

"Now, the first one to tell me what I want to know gets to live," the evil man said with a smile.

* * *

Rooster saw the bloody bodies of Team Shinji laid out by the wall. The slight mist of exhaled breath was the only indication at least one of the chunin was still alive. The man looked back to the voice to see a trio of ninja wearing Sound headbands.

"Surrender mercenaries or die where you stand," the leader of the Sound team said with amused malice.

Rooster almost chuckled at how smug the ninja appeared. He knew the Sound ninja were overmatched but even a lucky wide area jutsu could harm the Wave daimyo. This needed to be done quickly.

"Yuugao, protect the daimyo. Everyone else, gloves off," Rooster said quietly as he slowly sheathed his sword.

The Sound ninja's smirk only got wider.

As soon as the hilt of the sword contacted to sheath, Rooster's ANBU team seemed to disappear. The Sound ninja could not react fast enough and two of them died before they moved. The leader managed to dodge the killing blow and only took a deep wound instead.

"You … you're ninja!" the man stammered before the follow up blow took his head.

Rooster only stood in silence as he watched his team members quietly search the bodies of the Sound ninja. The ANBU squad members then picked up the injured member of Team Shinji and climbed over the fence

"Yuugao, go find the Wave daimyo's wife quickly. I don't think this is the only ninja squad here so be careful. Gloves are back on but you have discretion." "Yes, Sir," Yuugao replied. "Sakura, lead off. Where are we going?"

"To the laundry, Sensei," Sakura replied.

* * *

Sakura burst into the laundry building and looked for the servants that were normally there. The women all cowered behind the vats in fear and hiding their faces. Grumbling, the teen jammed her sword away and took off her head scarf showing her bright pink hair.

"Kimiko, its Sakura, please come out!" the teen called out.

The women looked less afraid but no one else moved at first. Finally, one of the women stood up and Sakura could see her face. The girl smiled.

"Kimiko-sama, we need to get you out of here," Sakura said.

"I … I am just a laundry girl, Sakura-san," Kimiko said hesitantly.

"We both know better, Kimiko-sama," Sakura replied. "We don't have much time. Gato's men will be checking here soon."

Shouts came up from outside in the compound as several servants were murdered.

Four other laundry women and girls were looking on in fear before one spoke.

"Please, Kimiko-sama, go with them. It is only a matter of time before you are discovered. We know she is not one of Gato's people," the woman said.

"I will not go without them," Kimiko said in a different tone of voice while gesturing to the laundry staff.. She spoke as someone who was used to giving commands to be followed.

"I know you were here with the trade official from the Land of Fire. If you are here now, that means one of two things. My husband's cousin is invading or you are part of his 'other' forces and doing this rescue in secret. These girls risked their lives for me and my maid is likely dying in captivity pretending to be me. I have already sacrificed Ayaka, they need not be sacrificed as well."

Yuugao growled at the woman's stubbornness but could see the woman would not relent.

"We can get them out but it will mean breaking cover somewhat. Naruto, make a half dozen shadow clones then make them look like other people. Try not to flare your chakra too much. If Gato has a sensor ninja we are beyond busted," the jonin commanded

Naruto quickly made the shadow clones then had them appear as random Konoha villagers. Each one went to a laundry maid and had the girl or woman climb on the back of a clone. Naruto took Kimiko himself. The team prepared to leave the building.

"Sakura, cover your head," Yuugao reminded the teen before she opened the door.

As soon as she had the scarf back in place, the team slipped out into the dark and rainy evening.

The team and shadow clones made for the nearest point of the wall behind the laundry building. One of the two extra clones was boosted over to catch on the far side. The others quickly climbed over with the laundry maids over before a shout rang out.

"There, near the fence!" called out one watchman on a wall tower.

"Kuso," cursed Yuugao as guards that had been milling about near the main building closed in.

"Get her out, Naruto," the jonin said as she and Sakura drew swords.

Naruto and the last clone boosted Kimiko over the wall. The clones on the far side caught the daimyo's wife and headed for the nearby path toward the meeting point.

A dozen guards closed in on the trio of ninja and last shadow clone. The clone hung back as the team drew swords and attacked to give the clones and laundry girls time to get away from the compound..

Yuugao slid and moved with a level of skill none of the guards had seen before. With Naruto and Sakura on her flanks and the wall at their back the guards could not bring their numbers to bear. Yuugao would cut them down but it would take valuable time they could not afford.

The last of the first wave fell and the shouts of more guards were closing in.

"Sakura, Naruto, go on and get out of here. I'll keep them off you and be right after," the jonin said.

Sakura sheathed her kodachi and looked at Naruto. The last clone there linked his fingers together and hoisted Sakura up and she flipped over the fence safely. Naruto followed quickly after her.

"We're over Sensei," Sakura called back.

Yuugao nodded and swiped hard at the remaining guards to open a space before she turned and ran at the clone. He caught her foot and lifted and flung the jonin over the fence. Yuugao misjudged her landing in the mud and went down as the clone surrendered to distract the attackers.

Naruto and Sakura pulled Yuugao up and half dragged her as she gained her feet enough to run by herself. The heavy rain and deepening gloom hid the tracks and washed them away. They met up with the clones, laundry maids and daimyo's wife on the way to the meeting point.

* * *

Back in the compound, the last clone was led to a cell in the guardhouse with his hands tied. The appearance of this one was of a particularly unkind man who had not allowed Naruto into his shop back in Konoha. He managed to avoid getting dispersed in his capture and decided to just go with things to give his original more time to escape. The guards would think they had a lead to finding the rest with their captive and not pursue as hard to an ambush in the darkness.

Gato arrived soon after a time to see the prisoner. The clone recalled some of Naruto's training and manners.

"Finance Minister Gato, a pleasure to meet you," the clone said with a bad accent.

"Not likely. You do realize that you're little stunt has cost the Wave daimyo his life," the short man began.

The disguised clone arched an eyebrow in interest. He had no clue if Gato was telling the truth or not, but he knew that if his original had died, he would have dispersed already.

"Really? I thought he got away. Your security in the compound was very lax," the clone stated.

"He is still on the island. That much is certain. After all, the entire island is essentially a prison as I control the sea. My ships reported nothing smaller than a cargo ship will be able to sail in this storm any earlier than the morning. My men will have him again soon enough. Then he will die. My announcement to the people of Wave will be the ninja who attacked the bridge and some mercenaries managed to kill the benevolent man in his sleep. I will sadly assume leadership as he has no son to succeed him. Your stunt merely accelerated my plans by several months," the shipping magnate said with a chuckle.

"I would think the people are not that gullible," the clone said.

Gato bristled. "You are mouthy for a prisoner," he snarled.

"Well, then I guess you won't be needing me or my information about the plan. I am willing to bargain for my life. After all, they did leave me behind. My life and a few pieces of silver and I'm yours," the clone said slyly.

Gato rubbed his chin. He loved how money brought out the best in people.

* * *

The various teams made their way back to the hideout in the ruin without any other incident. The last team in reported no visible tracks from the group. That much of the plan had worked out. The forecast had the rains continuing deep into the night.

Rooster dried off and secured dry clothing for the Wave daimyo. The man was grateful and looked about him with interest.

"The Uzushio ruins. I had thought the place had been completely destroyed and the area rendered hostile to settlement," the leader said.

"Not completely," the old hermit spoke up. The aged man bowed low to the leader of the Wave.

"You are no someone I recognize but you give me a bow like you are one of my subjects," the daimyo said.

"I live in this country. That makes you my liege," the old hermit replied.

Further discussion was postponed with the arrival of Team Yuugao, the maids and the daimyo's wife. The couple hugged tightly as the woman broke into tears. The ninja all found the walls very interesting and gave the couple some implied privacy.

"How did you escape?" the daimyo asked.

The woman pointed to Sakura. "I met her a month ago. She came with a trade delegation from the Land of Fire. Likely our interaction at the laundry was enough that she recognized me."

Then she pointed to Naruto. "This young man managed to carry my maids and the laundry girls away from the compound with us. He used some kind of ninja magic to make copies of himself. He is a hero."

The daimyo looked to both teens and bowed to them as equals. "Might I know the names of these fine young heroes?"

"Haruno Sakura, Daimyo-sama."

"Uzumaki Naruto, Daimyo-sama."

Naruto giving his name made several people jerk up and look at him closely. He had expected it from some of the Konoha ninja as the pair had a reputation. What surprised him was that the daimyo, his wife and the old man all became guarded.

"Uzumaki you say?" the old man asked. "I thought they were all dead."

Naruto felt uncomfortable but replied. "I am the only one in … where I am from."

The old man nodded, then turned and walked out without a farewell.

The daimyo looked and then turned back to Naruto. "The Uzumaki were once a part of this land. Everyone said they died out with the destruction of this place." He gestured at the ceiling. "I will be sure to tell my cousin about your efforts, about all of your efforts."

Rooster broke in now.

"I am afraid our efforts might not be enough yet. We are trapped here on the island until the weather clears. Even then, Gato controls the sea. Our original plans would have had you off the island before the storm but our estimation on the weather was off. Gato will surely come searching for us."

Naruto groaned and leaned on the wall grabbing his head.

"How? Oh, that is weird," he muttered.

Sakura looked concerned at her friend. "What is wrong Naruto?" she asked.

"All of a sudden, I got flashes of being in a jail cell talking to that Minister Gato guy and he was bragging."

Yuugao nodded. "The ability of the shadow clone jutsu. It transfers the memories of the clone back to the original. Jiraiya-sama did tell you about that."

"Minister Gato said he was going to kill everyone including the Wave daimyo and blame us for it," Naruto told Rooster.

The mission leader nodded. "That fits. Killing the daimyo here and blaming us and producing bodies will give his rule legitimacy. By dawn, he will have all of his available forces scouring this part of the island and will find us. We will need to fight as ninja to defeat them but that will cause people to wonder where we are from."

The old man had returned at some point wearing a worn set of ninja clothes with a headband.

"I have an idea for you," he said as he pulled out a box.

* * *

Next Chapter: Ghosts of the Past

* * *

**Title:**  
The loose translation of the chapter title into Japanese would be 'Nami, Kaze and Uzumaki' which of course are the names of Naruto's parents

**End Notes:**  
It was pointed out to me that a map on leafninja dot com has separate islands for the Wave and the Whirlpool. However, the site I use for my information is Naruto dot wikia dot com, the Narutopedia. The map on leafninja is user generated content and shows multiple islands and the manga chapter 500 shows a single island in that area and corresponds to an earlier map that shows the Wave Country. I go with the site that gives the least amount of user content. Narutopedia has them as one place so that is what I am doing.

Regarding knowledge of Naruto's heritage. I know there are many who learned of who Naruto is in canon. I would assume the Hokage swore the ones who did to secrecy. I believe the ANBU knows more about his past then they are revealing. After all, they needed to watch over him to stall or prevent a release to the Kyuubi.

**Review Notes:**  
For people looking for romance, this is not the story for you. As I stated early on, Naruto and Sakura are not hooking up. At best for the foreseeable future, they are close friends. However, the gentle teasing of Naruto will continue without any serious relationship overtones. Sakura and Yuugao are only having fun and not doing harm to him. Discomfort never hurt and Sakura will get her teasing as well in time. They are barely teenagers and looking at the opposite sex is normal part of puberty.

Kabuto, Jiraiya, the toads, Tsunade and Akatsuki will all appear eventually.

Posted 8/16/10


	20. Ghosts of the Past

**Ghosts of the Past**

The Leaf ninja looked at the old hermit in shock. One or two of them might have suspected the man of being more than he appeared but none expected this. The clothes were old and repaired but the headband shone in the dim light of their basement hideout. The symbol of Uzushiogakure was apparent to everyone.

"I have an idea for you," he said as he pulled out a box.

He opened it to show a number of brightly polished Uzushio headbands to the Leaf ninja.

"You cannot go into open battle under your own village's symbol. Would you honor the memory of your dead ally and go into battle wearing its symbol?" the old man asked with a slight quaver in his voice.

The assembled group was stunned by the suggestion. Wearing the headband of another village had been done for mission purposes in the past, but all ninja villages had an unspoken agreement to not wear the symbol of a destroyed village.

Rooster spoke up slowly. "Uzushio was destroyed long ago," he said gently to the old man.

"No!" the man shouted with a hint of madness in his tone. "I am still here! I swore to serve Uzushiogakure until my death. I still live so that means Uzushio still lives! I was out of the village on a mission when the end came. I had to return to … this." He gestured to the cracked walls of the basement.

"I was the one who pulled the dead from the rubble. I was the one who laid them into their graves. It was torture to do that but it was my duty to family and friends. Then I waited for others to return. I knew of survivors but none ever came back. But now, now an Uzumaki has returned!" Throughout the man's tirade his voice grew louder and more pleading.

The old man pointed to a wide eyed Naruto. "He is proof that part of what Uzushio once was still exists somewhere. I have waited for so long for anyone to come back. It is a sign that my wait hasn't been in vain."

Rooster looked to the Wave daimyo then to Yuugao and Naruto but they were confused as well.

The old man spoke up again.

"As Konoha and Uzushio were allies; I, as the ranking ninja in Uzushio, am allowing your people to wear the symbol on your mission to defend the legitimate ruler of this land," he said in a firmer tone than his earlier rant.

That statement brought Rooster up short. His mind worked over that last statement. If it was true the man was a ninja of Uzushio. Then, as the last ninja, he _was_ the ranking ninja and Konoha was their long time ally. He also recalled his orders not to implicate Konoha in this mission in case of the death of the Wave daimyo. He was facing a political nightmare no matter what happened. The Hokage had told him that Konoha could not be implicated at all unless and until the Wave daimyo was publicly freed. A dead daimyo with Konoha ninja involved would be a disaster

Rooster rubbed his face as everyone stood in silence. He could hear the sounds of the medic with them working in the wounded Team Shinji.

"We are supposed to remain undercover. No one could know we were Konoha ninja until you are away safely," he stated to the Wave leader.

The Wave daimyo spoke in reply. "I think we need to worry about more than possible political outcomes here. We need to be alive to do that. The victors write the history. As long as we do not lose, whatever we say will be known. If you try to fight superior numbers as mercenaries would you win?"

Rooster shook his head. He already knew what the daimyo was talking about. They had only twenty ninja at the beginning of this mission and three were already wounded or dead. Gato could bring over one hundred soldiers plus some unknown numbers of ninja and assorted locals against them. Without fighting to the best of their ability; they would be slaughtered to a person.

"The joys of leadership," he muttered before straightening up. "Okay people, listen up. We are in a tight spot. We cannot complete the mission in secret so we are going to have to do it in the open. Most of us arrived undercover as mercenaries so we have little by way of proper equipment."

Yuugao broke in at that point.

"Sir, I have access to a limited amount of equipment. My cat summon has been prepared with a pack of equipment for my team. It is not much but it is something. I'm sure I could send back a message to Konoha when the cat returns to where he came from. But he is not a major contract summon so he could not be summoned repeatedly nor ferry anything more than the prepared pack."

Rooster nodded and replied, "Send for it." Yuugao got up and moved away from the group. Several hand signs and a puff of chakra smoke later, her huge tabby was sitting there with the equipment she had prepared with Hiro.

The cat looked irked and spoke in a grumpy voice, "What? I was sleeping Yuugao."

The purple haired woman chuckled. "You are almost always sleeping. I'm glad you had not wandered out of the summon box. Has Hiro been taking good care of you?"

"Meh, he feeds me and keeps the litter box clean but he is not a cat person like you are, Yuugao," the tabby replied as he rubbed against his owner's legs.

"I have a message for you to pass on. We ran into a lot of trouble here. You need to tell Hiro to relay it to the Hokage. We rescued the Wave daimyo but the weather has prevented our escape from the Wave Country. We expect Gato to try to track and attempt to kill the daimyo before the weather clears enough to evacuate. We are going to have to fight. Any orders or aid would be appreciated but not expected."

The cat nodded and released the jutsu from his end to return to the summon box in Hiro's shop back in Konoha. The cat then jumped out of the open topped box and headed for the stairs.

Yuugao started unpacking the equipment from the bag Hiro had put together. Three sets of ninja body armor in her team's sizes designed to be hidden under clothing, a dozen food pills, two compact first aid kits, nearly one hundred kunai, twice that in shuriken and fifty explosive tags. There was also a small vial containing three black pills. Yuugao pushed that last item back into the bottom of the pack.

Rooster looked everything over and nodded. The equipment was not much but better than he expected. It doubled what the group already had as far as ninja weapons. They all still had their mercenary weapons. A sword and dagger was just as deadly as anything else there. The kunai, shuriken and tags were divided up.

He looked over his people once more; two four person ANBU squads, two healthy three person chunin teams and Yuugao with her genin. He knew the genin rank was due to other circumstances so he considered them chunin based on their training. 'Call it nine ANBU and eight chunin,' he thought. 'The two conscious wounded members of Team Shinji will be last ditch body guards for the daimyo and the women. The old man will be with us. I'll just consider him a genin for planning.'

"Okay, here is the initial plan," he began.

* * *

The storm raged all night as the front passed over the island nation. The ninja rested as much as they could while the storms lasted. Once the heaviest rain had passed it was almost dawn. The sunrise would pass unseen as the cloud cover kept the sky overcast. The rain would not be passing completely until later that day. The view of the channel between the Wave and the mainland was not encouraging. The waves were still much too large for the small boat of the old man to carry the Wave daimyo out of country.

That was not the end of the bad news. During the night, Gato had stationed a number of cargo ships along the channel so that any attempt to leave by sea would have been spotted and intercepted. Rooster dispatched a single chunin team to scout out the area between the ruins and the main areas of population to see what else Gato had done during the might.

Before he expected, the team returned with bad news. Finance Minister Gato had stooped to a new low. In the middle of the storm he had roused many of the locals and conscripted them to help in the search for the people who had 'kidnapped' their daimyo. Hundreds of civilians were in a beater line stretching nearly across the island east to west. The line was followed by groups of soldiers and mercenaries wearing the uniform of the Wave to keep the civilians moving forward. At the current speed of travel, the line would be at the ruins of Uzushio within two hours.

* * *

'To get to the real troops means we need to get past the civilians first. To make it worse, we don't know which of _those_ are helping willingly and which are being coerced,' Rooster thought. 'We need some kind of way to get rid of them.'

"Yuugao, I think your students can do something good for us here," he said.

The prankster in Naruto just loved the idea Rooster had. Civilians tended to be superstitious which is why the north end of the island had no one living there. Of course in a land where such things as oni, demons, and tailed beasts existed; many superstitions were more than just idle fears. The ruins of Uzushio were rumored to be haunted. Of course, the old hermit living there had a lot to do with that perception but it was something Rooster was willing to use for their benefit.

The team ran off to the south at full speed with weapons ready to fight just in case. They spotted the line of civilians soon enough. Watching from cover, they saw a section that had fewer soldiers behind it and picked that one to begin at. Naruto backed off some while Sakura used a transformation to look like a brown haired preteen in civilian clothes. Yuugao moved along with her but kept in hiding as the line approached.

Naruto prepared his trap. He created a dozens of shadow clones and had them change into walking corpses in ninja outfits. He made sure that each one had the symbol of Uzushio somewhere on it. The clones all spread out behind whatever cover that could be found, mainly bushes.

Sakura set things off just before she would have been spotted by the beaters. She screamed at the top of her lungs in a shrill panic. "The dead are coming up out of the ground!" she said as she ran past one man and continued away from the line toward the soldiers behind it.

At that signal, the shadow clones all stood and began walking toward the line. Civilians all up and down that part of the line suddenly panicked by Sakura's scream recoiled in fear at what rose up seemingly from the ground itself. More voices called out in fear.

"The dead are coming for us!" another voice cried out. No one realized it had come from Yuugao as the civilians grew more afraid. The shadow clones all began to stagger forward in a line of their own when Naruto acted. He hurled rocks at number of people who fell to the ground after being hit. Then one last shadow clone made to look like a farmer stood up near the line as a dead clone reached him. The corpse clone swiped its claws at the farmer clone which fell in a cry of pain that suddenly stopped. The corpse clone bent down over the fallen one and rose back up with its face covered in blood and gurgled out a roar.

The nearby civilians turned and fled screaming. In that panic, the second ANBU team under henge as Uzushio corpses was past them and cutting down the squads of soldiers that were trying to stop the fleeing people. The shout of pain and the deaths of the soldiers made the entire line stop as the reaction spread down in both directions.

The shouts of people fleeing calling out that the dead of the ruins were coming for them made many others afraid. The apparent deaths of the soldiers at the hands of the walking dead broke the spirits of the civilians and a number of mercenaries who all turned to flee. With the soldiers not pressing them forward, over a quarter mile of the line shattered and ran to the south.

The team moved back north as the shadow clones kept walking after the people running away in fear.

Minutes after the section of the line broke, a team of Sound ninja arrived. They saw the walking corpses and frowned thinking it was some kind of genjutsu. One raised his hands in the sign of the ram and called out, "Kai". When nothing happened, the Sound ninja closed in.

The corpse clones all stopped to look and one called out, "Who disturbs out rest?" when another called out "Enemies!" One clone corpse made hand signs and cast a minor fire jutsu at the Sound team. It missed them but set a nearby bush on fire.

The Sound ninja realizing this was no illusion were rattled and had no idea how to react when the ANBU team struck them from behind, killing them. One member took out a set of tiger claws and began shredding the face, throat and chest of the fallen enemies. The result looked like a man that had been torn to pieces by something not human.

The black ops ninja stripped the dead ninja of any useable weapons. The team then moved north after that and left the clones to continue walking after the civilians until they would disperse one by one.

Rooster nodded as the reports came in. The mercenary soldiers had closed in on the location but only found the bodies of their fellow soldiers, mercenaries and the dead Sound team; all mangled and shredded.

* * *

The leader of the force called a halt while he sent back to Gato for instructions. Gato sent back the head of the messenger with a note.

'Continue on your assigned task. Return empty handed and face what he received.'

The leader frowned but ordered his men north again. One squad merely took off their uniform jackets and dropped them to the ground and walked south. More civilians followed the retreating squad. The leader was about to order the rest of his men to cut them down when an arrow appeared out of his chest. It had come from behind. On the hill nearby stood what appeared to be a corpse holding a bow. It reached for another arrow but the mercenaries there were already running.

The chunin went back down the hill and out of sight before dropping his henge.

* * *

On the far end of the stopped line, rumors were starting to circulate. The word passed down along the line was that the dead from the ruins were rising to keep them away. The mercenaries tried to get their part of the line moving again but many people who had been forced to join were reluctant to continue. When a middle aged man refused to move, one mercenary killed the man with his sword.

A person there who had been helping Konoha in secret cried out, "You killed Tetsuo! You bastards! Get them!" the man proceeded to attack the nearest mercenary and the other civilians who knew the dead man joined in the squad of mercenaries was quickly downed and killed.

The entire situation turned into a brawl as more soldiers and mercenaries arrived and more civilians who had been oppressed in the previous months joined into the battle. The soldiers fell back in disarray or surrendered to the civilians who greatly outnumbered them.

The uprising rippled down the line as soldier and civilian turned on one another. There was little the outnumbered soldiers could do at this point but flee.

* * *

Naruto was chuckling from his hiding place as he watched the soldiers and mercenaries run away. It kept his mind off of other things. The deaths of enemies were not as troubling as they would have been months ago but they still affected him. The civilian headed back to their homes or to hide out until the current situation calmed down. He didn't blame them for that. They had loved ones they needed to look out for and without leadership people looked out for themselves first and their country second. Then he flinched as a number of his zombie shadow clones dispersed.

Sakura poked him on the shoulder after he rubbed his head. "What's up, Naruto?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head as the memories settled down. It was beginning to give him a massive headache with all these different views and deaths of his clones. "The clone memories are so weird, Sakura-chan. It's like I am in a lot of places at once and most of them are getting dispelled from losing chakra but a few have been killed. I have to stop from looking down to make sure I'm not bleeding."

Sakura nodded to him. She couldn't do the technique but she had talked with Ino a few times over the years about Ino's mind switch jutsu. The different perspective was the biggest adjustment there. For Naruto however, these were copies of him that were sending memories back to him. If one got hurt or killed, Naruto felt it as a phantom pain when the memories hit him.

"Just keep in mind that you are the real one and the clone memories are almost like imagination when it comes to wounds." Sakura paused and poked Naruto a few more time while smirking. "You _are_ the real one right?" she said playfully.

"Enough," Yuugao said in a tense voice. "Save the joking for non mission times."

"Yes sensei," both teens replied and grew quiet.

* * *

Gato was livid at the failure of his men to capture and kill a handful of mercenaries. He gave little credence to the rumors of a haunted ruin. But he also knew that if something was trying to keep him away from it; that was the place to look first. It was time to bring up some leverage. He gave out new orders to his men.

* * *

Rooster was pleased with the morning's events up until now. Breaking up the civilian beater line had gone smoothly with few deaths to the civilians. The few had been at the hands of Gato's men but the daimyo was saddened by the news. Using the shadow clone ability of sharing memories among all the clones had allowed the one that remained with Rooster to provide immediate intelligence. The current report from the Naruto clone standing next to him caused him to frown.

"Daimyo-sama, it seems Gato and his men are coming closer once more. But this time, he has the woman who was disguised as your wife as a hostage with him," Rooster said in a quiet tone. The ANBU had no reason to care about the woman who was actually the maid in disguise but he wanted some input from the Wave leader.

The daimyo frowned at the news. Using maids like this was an old custom among the nobility but he could not bring himself to simply sacrifice the woman. "Is a rescue possible?" the leader asked.

Rooster looked to the Naruto clone for information.

"The woman is being held at sword point and there are several dozen mercenary soldiers and at least two squads of ninja there. One squad is from the Sound village and one appears to be a squad made of missing ninja. The scout could not tell which village but saw the slashed headbands," the clone reported.

Rooster frowned. The missing ninja were likely chunin level at minimum. Genin level missing ninja tried to blend in to the background due to their much lower skill. They were too much of an easy target to proclaim their flaunting of a former allegiance.

"Hmmm, if nothing else Gato is going to be paying another death bonus to the Sound after this skirmish," Rooster said thoughtfully. He looked over to his squad. "Go out and relieve Squad B and the third chunin squad and have them kill as many of those mercenaries as possible and rescue the woman. Retreat if it looks like you will suffer casualties of your own."

The trio of ANBU vanished in a puff of chakra smoke.

Rooster frowned at leaving the daimyo so lightly defended. Counting himself, Rooster only had seventeen fully effective ninja to defend the daimyo. From the team that had been cut down at the compound, there were only two survivors. The girl was in the best shape physically likely due to the ninja who ambushed them wanted the girl for other purposes. The team leader had a bad shoulder wound but was on his feet. He could body block and take out a few mercenaries if he needed to as a defense but not much more. The second boy had been dead before the ANBU had returned with the daimyo back at the compound. It was a shame. The boy had been marked at a Potential and added to the Watch List after his bout with the Hyuuga boy in the Chunin Exams.

* * *

Deer and his teammates; Boar and Raccoon headed out with the third chunin squad. He knew this would be a difficult task and keeping all of his allies alive was imperative. The teams had been lucky so far. Having the Uzumaki boy and his shadow clones had made breaking the civilians that much easier. Now they had fewer but more capable foes.

The teams went to ground out of sight from the advancing group of mercenaries. Raccoon was charged with the sole task of getting in and out with the maid. A chunin team member would use his bow to draw out the ninja to an ambush by Deer and Boar. Raccoon and the other two chunin would hit the mercenaries from the flank and secure the target. Once Raccoon had the woman, the pair of chunin would cover the retreat with some explosive tags. It was a solid hit and run plan.

The chunin applied his corpse henge and readied his attack. He stuck several arrows into the sandy soil at his feet to reload quickly. Once the approaching group was in his range, he stood from hiding and began firing his arrows into the mercenaries. He managed to get his third arrow nocked before the first struck a target. Speed of fire was more important at the moment than accuracy.

The first arrow struck with a whoosh of air into the torso of a swordsman. He groaned and fell backwards to the ground. The men reacted but the second arrow hit another man in the leg. One noted the direction of the incoming arrows and pointed to the barely seen 'corpse' firing arrows from cover. The two squads of ninja vanished as they used a shun-shin jutsu to get closer.

The chunin had fired his fifth arrow as he came under attack by the enemy ninja. He used his bow to deflect the kunai one attacked with in an attempt to end the fight quickly. The Sound ninja frowned at his attack being deflected by a 'mercenary' but he had not further thoughts as the undercover chunin stabbed the Sound ninja with a dagger. The Sound ninja sagged back as his teammates' hurled weapons of their own. The Leaf chunin dodged but his baggy mercenary outfit was cut by one passing blade.

The missing ninja squad had stopped close to the ambushing bowman but did not close in to fight. They were all experienced and would let the fodder go first. It did them little good as the hidden ANBU operatives struck. Deer and Boar hit the squad from opposite sides and beheaded two of the missing ninja like chickens. The third missing ninja looked one way only to be hit from behind a moment later.

One of the Sound ninja noticed the action behind him and fled while his teammates were cut down by the lone chunin and the pair of ANBU. The undercover Leaf ninja quickly stripped weapons from the dead and left with the heads of the missing ninja still dripping blood.

With the mercenaries, the third, fourth and fifth arrows did not damage. They looked warily about when the man holding the 'daimyo's wife' made a gurgling sound. All that the group saw was a swirl of dirt and a wire where the woman had once been. The leader of the group fought back a smile as his least favorite man in the company died. His grin was interrupted by a rain of explosive tagged kunai falling into the midst of the group. He managed to avoid taking any hits when it happened.

Raccoon got in and out of the mercenary mob in under a second with his freed prisoner. The two chunin had timed their throws based on his leaving them so when he returned he could leave with them. It was a solid plan in theory but they had forgotten who they were dealing with.

Raccoon was back with the two chunin moments after they had thrown their explosives. He looked to see the young woman had a glazed look to her eyes. It was the last thing he saw as the explosives Gato had strapped to her body exploded. The two chunin with him were thrown back and consumed in the blast as well.

The leader of the group called for a retreat back to the staging area after the blast. He sent a dozen men to find out what their trap had gotten them. The report of a trio of dead enemies made the five dead on his side seem worth it. The wire that had set the explosives off still dangled from the waist of his dead comrade.

"That is payback for groping my sister, fool," he said to the unheeding corpse.

Deer cursed when the blast off to one side occurred. He realized then that the man they were dealing with had set a trap for them and they had walked right into it. He could do nothing else but return to base while both side continued their plans in what was becoming a chess match. A chess match played with the lives of the players on both sides. The losers died.

* * *

Gato smiled at the report of three dead enemies. He cared little for the dead on his side now. They were a small price to pay as he gave orders for two other groups to move closer to the ruins from other parts of the island

* * *

The daimyo of the Land of Fire got in touch with his people. The video link between the Five Nations was used rarely due to cost and difficulty but he felt this was a good reason for it. Word of a covert attempt to rescue a captive Wave daimyo was passed to the daimyos of the other great nations. Sarutobi bowed in gratitude to the man who ruled the nation he protected. Even if his people died, he had just insured that their efforts would not be in vain. The leaders knew what was happening even if the majority of people would not know for some time. It cost Konoha some short term political points but it would be worth it if things ended badly.

* * *

Next Chapter: Endgame in Wave

* * *

**End Notes:**  
The fate of Team Shinji revealed. Kenji died at the compound, Shinji is hurt with a shoulder wound and Suki had been roughed up and knocked out.

Leaf ninja count:  
Twenty at the start: Naruto, Sakura, Yuugao, Two four-person ANBU squads, three three-person chunin squads.  
Dead: Kenji (chunin), Raccoon (ANBU), two nameless chunin  
Wounded: Shinji, Suki (chunins)

**Review Notes:  
**I know Naruto is not a blood relation to the First or Second Hokage. Sakura picked up on Yuugao trying to distract Naruto again and used it get his mind off his parents again.  
The closest realistic relationship Naruto and Tsuande could have would be second cousins once removed. That would have Mito as Kushina's great aunt (a sibling of one of her grandparents) The First and Second would only be in-laws to Naruto, not blood.

Yuugao telling Naruto that the information is classified is only a way of telling him she does not have answers for him. Suspecting is one thing. But if she goes and tells him what she thinks without official permission, she has violated a lot of laws and could pay a serious price. She knows she could also be wrong.

Yes, Law of Anime #17 is that Minmei is a bimbo. As the first anime I saw years ago was Robotech, she has always fit that definition.

The thing with Konoha acting in secret is for multiple reasons. I touched on a few in the chapter. Political reason are the main one. No one in the general public of the Elemental Countries is aware of the Wave daimyo being held captive. If Konoha goes out and simply invades; even with the blessing of the Fire daimyo it could set off another ninja war. Konoha's reputation would be trashed and it would cost business. The flip side of it is that if the man dies in the process, Konoha would be blamed for it. Acting in secret give them deniability.

Thanks to Ackdam for reading and reviewing. I look forward to your next update as well

Special thanks to GeshronTyler for his many thoughtful reviews since my last update

Special Story Notes:

Posted 9/28/10 (Edit: Adujusted Review Note on Naruto / Senju relationship and Reposted)

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	21. Endgame in Wave

**Endgame in Wave**

Rooster was not pleased with the report from Deer. The rescue attempt on the maid was a failure and cost him another three ninja he could not replace. He looked at the map of the island he had laid out with the daimyo. They were vulnerable to the east and south. The ocean covered their north and west but with boats out there he could not consider those secure.

Deer commented that this was turning into a chess match of strategy and Rooster could not dispute that. In that context he had lost a rook and a pair of pawns basically for nothing in return. The other side had only the King and an uncounted number of pawns

Rooster on the other hand had lost thirty percent of his total to death or injury by now. To make things worse, if he remained on the defensive, he would lose through attrition as Gato hurled his pawns at him. Before their position could be relieved, he would either run out of supplies or ninja to hold it.

He needed to change the game while still keeping his King; the Wave daimyo, safe.

* * *

The land forces dispatched by Gato were soon spotted by the chunin lookouts. Rooster frowned at the size of the forces once more. There were fifty in each and mainly men in the colors of the Wave. He gave orders to his ninja. His team would join with two of the remaining chunin and face the southern force. The other ANBU squad would face the eastern force with the other pair of healthy chunin. Team Yuugao would remain in the ruins of Uzushio as lookouts and last line of defense for now.

Gato sent word for his special group to move in. These were some of his best men. He only wished the poor quality ninja the financially desperate Sound village had sent him lived longer. He had gotten a bargain price for the five teams of low level chunin but now he regretted it. The missing ninja working for him had also been reduced to a single squad. This fight was getting expensive for him but he was past caring about cost. He needed that daimyo dead and his own rule recognized as legitimate.

The 'mercenaries' who had stolen away the Wave daimyo turned out to be ninja themselves. He just needed to capture one alive long enough to learn which village the scum belonged to. Once he knew that, he could slowly plan its demise. His previous captive had simply vanished from the cell he had been in with no trace. Damn all those magicians and their tricks.

Lights flashed between the ships in the channel and soon one close to the ruins of Uzushio lowered a number of small boats. The boats made their way to the rocky shore and the small beaches there. Thirty men in the colors of Gato's private guard climbed out of the boats and crept quietly toward the ruins, as yet unnoticed.

* * *

Naruto checked over his gear once more. The situation had forced both Sakura and him to give all but one of their explosive tags, all their shuriken and most of their kunai to the others. His primary weapon right now was his well worn kodachi. The time Yuugao-sensei had spent teaching him the sword had been satisfying even if quite difficult. His confidence grew each time he trained with it. Now, it would fulfill the purpose of all swords. He tried not to dwell on taking more life but it still bothered him to do so. Sensei told him often that if it stopped bothering him he needed to find something else to focus on as a ninja. Not all hidden villages thought that way but it was a mainstay in the teachings of Konoha.

His thoughts were broken when Sakura nudged him.

"Focus Naruto," the pink haired girl admonished him.

"Sorry," he replied with a small smile.

The teenage girl turned back to what she had been doing so Naruto focused on what he had been assigned. They had been sent to watch the eastern approach to the ruins for any mercenaries that had slipped past the ninja engaging the enemy. The low grass covered dunes near the rocky cliff the former hidden village sat on were difficult to look at for long. The waving grass grew hypnotic as it moved side to side. The teens made sure to nudge the other one every few minutes to relieve boredom and make sure the other was focused on their assignment.

Satisfied that no one was in sight, Naruto focused on the mental exercise that sensei had taught him to train his sensor ability. Overall, the ability turned out to be above average but not strong enough to warrant specialized training. He felt chakra sources begin to appear in his mind's eye. The chakra glow of Sakura behind him washed out a good deal of the animals nearby so he tried to push that out of his 'sight'.

Slowly, he managed to get something off behind them near the shore. A single human sized moving source had moved up into the edge of the ruins from the ocean.

"Sakura, I sense something. Is there a lookout near the ocean?" he asked his teammate.

"No, just us. Why?" the girl asked.

Naruto focused once more and detected additional smaller chakra sources. "There is something moving there and it is too big and too many to be an animal," the boy replied.

Naruto focused and made a hand sign to conjure a pair of shadow clones. One immediately dispelled to take the information to the clone with Rooster while the other ran towards the beach north of them to investigate.

Less than two minutes later, Naruto shuddered as the clone was dispelled by force.

"Sakura, my clone was ambushed and killed. We have a problem," Naruto said as he stood. The boy created a new clone to send to Yuugao then turned to move north in person.

Sakura frowned as she checked her sword and the few remaining kunai and shuriken she had been allotted. She followed after Naruto in silence after a few seconds.

Off to the east, the sounds of battle erupted.

* * *

Bird cursed under his mask as the mercenaries closed in on his team. They had moved in spread out enough that most jutsu would not take care of more than one or two. These were experienced mercenaries who might have fought ninja in the past since they worked in pairs and covered each other well. They were leaving few blind spots when his team could sneak attack. Bird increased his speed to engage the mercenaries but he could not tell by looking which mercenaries were of high quality and which were mere fodder. Being outnumbered ten to one had allowed the enemy to surround their position once the fight began.

One of the chunin went down, dead under a trio of blades. The military ninja simply lacked the raw power to overcome the odds facing him. Bird knew ninja were not suited to stationary defense against pure soldiers. They were mainly strike and fade troops not stand and fight ones. Without the ability to move around enough, even the ANBU in the team had gotten minor wounds. The pile of bodies slowly increased but not quickly enough.

After the second chunin and one of his ANBU team had fallen with injuries, Bird signaled the remaining two healthy members to grab the wounded to break out and head away from battle toward the ruins. With luck the enemy would not pursue the two ninja moving away and focus on him. He frowned that he might not get to see the birth of his niece or nephew but that could not be helped. His remaining teammates were out of the blast zone

"Fire style: Death Blossom," Bird said after a half dozen hand signs. The jutsu converted nearly all of his remaining chakra to fire type and it detonated taking out everything in a fifty meter radius including nearly all remaining enemies on the eastern battle zone. Bird fell to the ground unconscious and barely breathing.

The last ANBU member and the chunin ran back in and dealt with the survivors before hoisting the unconscious Bird up and heading back to base to treat the wounds.

* * *

In Iwa, a blonde man looked around sensing he had just missed something artistic.

* * *

Naruto closed in on the beach as Sakura caught up to him.

"We will attack just like we did in the forest a few weeks ago, Sakura. Call out targets and I'll get them first. We have a few kunai and our swords. We start with the ones that look like leaders and inflict casualties first then mop up afterwards," Naruto said in whisper.

Sakura nodded and pointed out likely candidates. Each genin slid their last kunai into a point back grip for a slashing attack. Running on the top of rocks would be dangerous but it was the only advantage the pair had until the enemy was in among the ruins. They waited for the right moment.

Gato's men were wary since the lead man had killed a ninja that vanished in a puff of smoke. They were alert for anything and the minutes crept by with nothing happening made them focus for any hint of an attack. A mercenary slipped on the wet rocks and fell twisting his ankle. The men around him looked to the sound for a brief moment and that became the signal for the genin to attack. Their chakra enhanced limbs let them cover the twenty yard distance from their ambush point to the lead mercenary in moments. A pale man in the front died with a slit jugular vein before he noticed he was under attack.

Naruto pushed off a rock to the second man with Sakura going the other way around him. Each genin sliced one of the man's arms at the bicep. His scream of pain as he fell alerted the men behind him they were under attack. The remaining men were now focused on the pair of teens before them.

Some of the mercenaries had bunched together amid the rocks as the lead ones halted but the trailing ones did not. Sakura almost grinned as she activated her sole explosive tag on its kunai and hurled it into a group of six men. The explosion echoed along the shore and off the ruins behind them. Naruto barely flinched as the tag blew up as he ran back toward the ruins with Sakura. They could not do much more at that point against prepared foes. Training told them to not to stand and fight if they could help it.

The ruins themselves were dozens of walls and shattered buildings over several acres of land. Grass grew in and moss had softened the rubble but even after a quarter century it was still a maze of hiding places for the ninja to fight from. A noise behind them made them turn to see the old man in his worn uniform and Uzushio headband.

"This is my village. I will defend it," he stated in a firm voice.

Neither genin mentioned that it was no longer a village but a mere ruin. They just nodded after glancing at one another.

The man went through a series of hand signs.

"Rolling Fog technique," he whispered. In moments a bank of fog rose from the ocean and flowed up over the ruins. Visibility was reduced to a few yards as the mist settled.

"I could make it as thick as the Hidden Mist technique but I never was good at blind fighting and it has been a long time," he whispered to Sakura.

The girl gave the old man a sad smile as she heard the mercenaries cursing at the fog. She slid her kunai back into its leg pouch and pulled out her brass knuckles instead of the kodachi. Long bladed weapons would not work as well in the broken rubble again more skilled swordsmen. Focusing chakra into her feet, she scaled a shattered wall and waited a dozen feet up nearly invisible in the mist. Naruto seemed to fade into the mist as he found a dark place to blend into where his clothing would not stand out as much before disappearing under a henge. He drew a second kunai and held them like trench knives and waited.

The mercenaries cautiously entered the ruins as the fog had taken away their advantage in numbers. The remaining men grouped together in trios or quads and split up. They knew the fog was not natural and the ninja were waiting. But to turn and run meant death at Gato's hands. To go forward could mean death at the ninja's hands. Their sole chance for living existed by defeating the ninja so they moved ahead.

Naruto waited motionless as one group passed him by. Without disturbing his henge, he silently stepped up behind the trailing man. As he had in the northern forest months before he clamped one hand over the man's mouth. The difference here is he also cut the throat of the man before leaping away with the corpse. A single pebble dislodged by the mercenary's foot and a swirl of fog was the only proof he had been there.

Sakura clung to a lintel with chakra in her feet and fingertips. The trio of mercenaries passed below her without looking up.

'They are observant for hired swords but they are not ninja,' she thought as she evaluated her opponents. Ninja are trained to think in the vertical aspect as well as the horizontal. She struck straight down with her brass knuckles to the crown of the trailing man's head. A dull thud like a dropped melon was heard by the two up front. They spun to see the dead man behind them on the ground with half his skull caved in and nothing but a swirl of fog.

The old man watched a quad of mercenaries work through around a shattered building. The ancient ninja remembered how that one building had looked decades before and the name of the shopkeeper as well. He nodded slowly to a voice only he could hear as his hands went through a series of seals.

'Nasal Water Globe Encasement,' he thought as the fog around him thinned as his jutsu called on the water vapor. The men all grabbed at their faces as balls of water formed in their mouths and over their noses. Their fingers slid through the water but the old ninja kept up his jutsu from hiding. Minutes crawled by as the men were forced to inhale and painfully drowned. The Whirlpool ninja kept up his jutsu for an additional minute after the last stopped moving before releasing it and moving in to slice the throats of the downed men.

The stealthy killing by Naruto, Sakura and the old Whirlpool ninja only took minutes but it was enough for the real defense to arrive. Yuugao came running up from her position to the south to support her team. She drew her sword as she entered the fog and soon the clang of sword fighting erupted before silence fell once more. In her wake, a dozen mercenaries lay bleeding and either unconscious or dead.

The jonin traced Sakura in the higher parts of the ruins and came up from her side stopping just close enough to be seen through the mist and making a small noise followed by a recognition gesture. Sakura moved closer to her teacher and they whispered to each other.

"How many enemies?" she inquired.

The pink haired girl gave a tally and what she had and Naruto had dealt with before the fog jutsu had been used. Yuugao nodded and added in her kills. She gave a coded bird call out to draw Naruto to a meeting place before leading Sakura in the direction the code called for them to move. Minutes later, the team was together.

Naruto only had two additional kills but both had been silent pickoffs. With the bodies Yuugao had spotted that left less than a dozen enemies remaining.

"Both of you are doing a good job on hitting and moving. Leave the open fighting to the samurai or higher level ninja," Yuugao told her students with a nod.

"It was harder during that battle in the forest right before the Chunin Finals. There we had to keep moving and stay two steps ahead of a lot of ninja," Naruto commented.

Both genin shuddered a bit at the memories of that night but forced them back down since they were 'on duty'. A short distance away, they heard another group of enemies fall down and headed in that direction. The old ninja had killed off the remaining enemies in the ruins with his water jutsu during their meeting. They had to go report to Rooster on what was happening.

* * *

Rooster was not happy with the situation in the slightest. The southern force of mercenaries had been routed with no casualties on his side. The strike at the ruins also held firm but confirmed for the enemy knew where they were located. His chess analysis was still holding and he was down more pieces than before. The enemy sacrificed more replaceable pawns away and still held a stronger position. If he did nothing but repulse attacks his forces would be whittled down one by one until they all fell. He had to change the game.

'If I say this is troublesome once more, the Nara clan is going to adopt me,' he thought as he rubbed his face. In chess when the king cannot be protected in its castle, it steps forth onto the board and relies on motion as protection. It was a dangerous option but less so than remaining still at this point. Also, since this was life as well as chess, it opened up a chance for additional pieces to join in the game. He turned to face the Wave daimyo. They would need to act quickly.

* * *

A few miles to the south, mobs of civilians frightened off by the 'ghosts of Whirlpool' were clumping together in a farming village to decide what to do when a voice echoed from the north.

"My people listen to me," called out the Wave daimyo.

Heads turned to see the true ruler of Wave coming down a hill surrounded by a dozen men and women in ragged garb with ninja headbands on. A number of them appeared wounded but mobile. An elderly man looked in awe and said, "The symbol of Uzushio? Is the Whirlpool returning?"

The daimyo stopped near a large clump of men and women.

"My people, I have been held captive by the Finance Minister Gato for months now. He stole this country and is raping it for his own ends. These people have come to my aid to free me. Now, we must all work together to cast him out of our country!"

A majority of the people there looked shocked but several nodded in agreement. They had not been treated well by the soldiers and mercenaries in recent months and the words of their leader made sense.

One man cried out differently

"Gato has been building fields and making the roads better. He built a power plant for us."

"Did he? Do you have power to your homes? Do you have more food on your tables? Can you travel along those roads without being stopped by a soldier asking where you are going?" responded the daimyo.

The man shrunk back and meekly replied, "No, none of those things."

The daimyo had their attention now as more people came up as the civilians gathered closer from both directions.

"Gato lies to you. He claims to be making the Wave Country better in my name but is he really doing that? He hired many mercenaries and brought them here. But who is he protecting? The Wave does not need that many soldiers to keep the peace. I had few and they remained close to me not spread out all over the countryside. They never took things from my people before Gato came. They never killed any of you. So who are these soldiers here for? They are all Gato's men to see that he keeps his rule over you."

The crowd was nodding in agreement at this point and many were looking angry.

The elderly man who recognized the headbands spoke once more.

"Is Uzushio returning? Are the Uzumaki coming back to free us from Gato?" he said in a pleading voice.

The daimyo frowned. He knew that old man was a village elder of the farming town. The man had lived here his entire life and acknowledged the Wave as his home now. But the man had been alive when the island had been the Land of Whirlpools .He didn't want to fall back on the previous rulers of this land but he needed to get that elder on his side. It would go a long way towards getting the doubters to fight.

"I have not decided if Uzushio will return or not. These ninja were brought in and wear the symbol at my request to show all of my people they are here for me and for them. But to let you know one important thing, I will have one introduce himself. Naruto, come up here."

Slowly, from the back of the group of ninja, the crowd saw a blonde haired teen come up and stand beside the daimyo.

"Tell them your full name please," the daimyo commanded.

Naruto looked back at Yuugao and Rooster who both nodded.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I was assigned to this mission to free your daimyo," the blonde said in a firm voice.

The elder looked skeptical at first as he processed the name he heard, "Maelstrom, a fine name for an Uzumaki. The Uzumaki have returned to free us," he cried out in joy at last.

The crowd cheered after the elder until the elder spoke once more, "Are others coming back as well? Is Whirlpool being restored?" he asked hopefully.

Naruto looked nervous at that question. "My parents died when I was little. As far as I know, I am the only Uzumaki. The Wave Country is your home now. I'm not here to bring back anything except to free your daimyo from Gato. Wave or Whirlpool, he is the rightful ruler of this place, not Gato."

The elder nodded and cried out, "Down with Gato."

The crowd took up that and began to chant 'Down with Gato'. Then without warning a number of kunai flew from the brush. One struck the elder, one struck Naruto and one struck the daimyo; all three hit solidly in the chest. The plain clothed ANBU jumped at the bushes and quickly captured or killed another squad of Sound ninja.

The crowd had gasped in shock at the attack and gathered around the elder while the ninja gathered around the fallen leader. Naruto was getting back up with a slight gasp as the bloody kunai was pulled from his tunic. Only the tip had penetrated through Naruto's armor and had left no real damage.

The aged elder was gasping for breath but there was nothing the people gathered around could do for him. He coughed out some blood and died. Many roared out in anger as the elder had been loved by many and in his small farming village within the Wave. He had in his own way more acknowledgement than the daimyo himself.

The crowd had been about to storm off when a raspy voice cried out, "Wait!"

The stunned crowd looked to see the daimyo standing once more with just a tear in his robes. The ones closest could see the gray of ANBU style body armor peeking out from underneath. The daimyo had been wearing the formless chest piece of Yuugao's body armor under his robes as protection. Now he was glad that Rooster had insisted on such a measure.

"Wait," he repeated. "We cannot just rush in or we will lose. I underestimated Gato once and we all paid the price. We must plan first and see the best way to win. Time is on our side for now. When the weather clears, we can get word out of the Wave for aid against Gato. I can see a few of my former guards in the group. I want you to organize the people here while I confer further with the ninja."

Rooster frowned as the ANBU squads gathered in closer. He whispered to the daimyo. "Time might work for us but as long as Gato controls the bridge and the ocean, we have no means of getting word out. Even with the animal summon relaying messages to Konoha; any help from them is days away at the earliest. Gato will work to crush us as soon as he can bring his remaining forces down on us."

The daimyo nodded. "We have one other thing working for us. It appears Gato dismissed all of my personal retainers. None of the men in official uniform are people you need to worry about sparing. That would be the best place to start."

Rooster nodded in return. "That we can do something about," he said. He turned to his ninja and gave orders. "With the addition of local help, it gives us some more options. My squad will remain with the wounded chunin on guard duty for the daimyo. His personal retainers along with trusted locals will form an outer perimeter. Bird, take Yuugao's squad and go back to escort the daimyo's wife and the maids to us here along with the old ninja. The other squad and the healthy chunin will go out on a recon and eliminate any uniformed enemies. Pay close attention to the ones who appear to be leaders. Remember that your basic mercenary fights for money and dying is a sure way to end getting paid. The ones in it for a paycheck will give up or leave rather than get killed once the body count starts rising quickly. Gloves are off and everyone fights to the best of their ability."

* * *

The squad and team left to the south while Sakura looked over at her teammate.

"Naruto, you ok?" she asked.

Naruto shook his head no.

"The daimyo was pretty honest with the people but he told a few lies as well. We aren't here at his request. We only wore the Whirlpool headbands because the old man asked us to before and the daimyo did again before we came here. I know they aren't big lies but why didn't he just say the real things?"

Yuugao sighed as she struggled for an answer.

"Naruto, if he told the complete truth right now, the people would lose faith in him and his ability to lead them. Gato would end up winning because the people wouldn't stand against him. He bent the truth but the essence of what he said is still valid. It is kind of like what the Hokage said about the Yondaime defeating the Kyuubi. People are told he killed it but in a way it is true. When you die one day, it will die with you. So, in effect by sealing is within you, he did kill it. It is a small lie now that becomes the truth in the end but it hurts less than the complete truth right now."

Naruto thought about it as they headed out north back to the ruins.

* * *

In the harbor town, shouts rang out from various checkpoints as sneak attacks began to wipe them out one by one. In each case, the youngest and most junior of the soldiers and mercenaries were spared to run away. The ninja wearing a spiraled headband made one thing clear to each one allowed to live; get out of Wave if they wanted to live. Those few fled in terror after having seen their superiors cut down. They passed others who also took a look at what was happening. The paycheck mercenaries began packing up their gear and headed for the bridge. Others at the bridge began to join them and soon a trickle of men crossed in spite of the uniformed military trying to stop them.

Soldiers in the uniform of the Wave were the next targeted. They were cut down to a man from ninja in ambush. A slaughtered patrol was sent back headless on their horses as the afternoon wore on and attacks increased. The citizens of the town knew something was happening. The people taken off early that morning had yet to return. The streets grew empty and quiet as the civilians locked themselves away and prayed for their own safety.

Deer and Boar were pleased that something was finally going right for them. They were in their element as stealth and assassination were the primary business for ANBU operatives. They continued working on destabilizing the remains of Gato's forces.

* * *

On the Fire Country side of the bridge, fleeing mercenaries were a sign of something happening in Wave. Haku picked up his master's sword and headed back toward the bridge. The Demon of the Ice found little resistance as he walked. The one man who tried to stop him on the Wave side of the bridge was cut down. That death meant the crossing was left unguarded as his squad abandoned their posts in fear.

Dozens more mercenaries followed in the wake of the first deserters as word spread across the island. Eventually, men loyal to Gato personally heard what was happening and brought the man word of events in town.

Gato frowned as he considered the situation. He estimated that he was down to less than a quarter of his original forces by now. Only his most loyal people could be counted on now. He gave an order to be passed to the remaining people he felt were worth his time. It was time to leave the Wave Country. Since he had nothing remaining of value locally that could not be replaced, he was moving in less than a minute. In the end it would not matter. He had wrung enough money out of the country to cover all the expenses he had incurred in the attempt to take it over.

Haku broke into the office minutes later to find nothing but smoldering papers in a trash can and a still warm cup of coffee. The Demon of the Ice narrowed his eyes and set off in pursuit. His chase ended standing on the dock as the personal yacht of Gato was beyond his reach out onto the ocean.

* * *

Hours passed as the situation in Wave settled down. The men Gato left behind in his evacuation surrendered completely to the 'Whirlpool' ninja and the revived personal guard of the Wave daimyo. Night fell on a large gathering at the port town near the bridge.

"We have won a great victory together," the Wave daimyo called out to the people who had gathered. "We owe a debt beyond price to the ninja who freed me from captivity and all of you from the bondage of Gato. I promise that we shall pursue his arrest and punishment above all else. But, for tonight we celebrate the gifts we have and tomorrow we shall set things right in our country."

The people cheered and the celebration went on into the night. The Leaf ninja slid out of sight at some point and departed the island with no fanfare after collecting the bodies of their own fallen.

* * *

Jiraiya growled as he held the pile of notes he had bought up from the various legal and underworld money lenders he knew. So far he had bought up nearly seventy five percent of Tsunade's outstanding IOU's and loans. All the people who had sold them to him laughed but agreed to pass the word not lend money to the blonde Sannin again.

'Tsunade has enough debts that even my Icha Icha sales from the past year three years barely cover it. This plan is sure to drive her out into the open since she will have no money and no access to more money. The toads made contact with the slugs but she has not summoned one in over a year now so that is a dead end. I will have to come up with more help for this. Sensei should be able to get me someone else,' Jiraiya thought as he sipped some sake.

* * *

Naruto was quiet as his team made their way back to Konoha. The entire affair in the Wave bothered him. They had succeeded in their assignment but it felt hollow. Hundreds died and the primary person responsible had escaped at least for the moment.

Sakura nudged her blond teammate out of his thoughts.

"Your face is going to stay that way if you keep pouting, Naruto," the pink haired teen said.

Naruto nodded slowly but wanted to say something but Yuugao spoke first.

"I know it is hard to accept, Naruto, but this was a good mission. We did the right thing for the most people. The people who worked and fought for Gato might not have been all evil but a large majority were not what most would consider 'good' people. They were gangsters and thugs. Hired killers."

"Are ninja that much different, sensei? We are hired and do missions that involve all kinds of unsavory things. We kill. We steal. What makes us any better than them?" Naruto asked in a low voice.

Sakura unconsciously nodded as she recalled the family picture she had left on the mercenary only a few days before.

"We try to make thing better for people, Naruto. So the people under our protection do not need to do the things we do or make the choices we make. So they can sleep at night without worrying if tomorrow they will die for no reason because someone with too much power decides they should die. In the end it is not a major difference but remember we do it so others can enjoy the benefits of our sacrifices and we hope that in time no one else will need to make them."

Naruto just nodded and continued to ponder as they headed home to Konoha.

* * *

Next Chapter: Hunting the Sannin

* * *

Authors Note: It has been too long since an update but creating a chapter I could be content with was not easy. I trashed dozens of endings and even this one is not completely sitting well. It goes against my liking to leave an unresolved ending but that is life. Every mission cannot have a happy ending.


	22. Coming Home

**Coming Home**

The gates of Konoha loomed large in the near distance. Fifteen people approached in ragged civilian garb approached it openly. Treated wounds could be seen on several and a few others moved a bit more stiffly than one would expect. Originally, they had been twenty and left separately but their leader felt the fallen deserved the honor of being returned home openly. Their fallen were listed as Heroes of the Wave under assumed names. The group's leader, an ANBU operative code named Rooster wanted more for them at home.

The group had been waiting for a half hour before closing the last distance to the gates. A white robed man stood waiting for them just outside the gates. He was holding a number of ninja headbands. On the ground behind him lay five stretchers with cloths to place over the stretchers. The fifteen people stopped and as if given a signal all went down to one knee before the elderly man in the white robes.

"Hokage-sama,' Rooster spoke. "We have returned from our mission to rescue the daimyo of the Wave country. We can report the mission was completed successfully."

The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, nodded with a grim look on his face.

"Well done to all of you," was his only reply at this time. Sarutobi stepped back to the gate itself before fourteen rose from their kneeling position. Rooster remained on one knee as he pulled out a sealing scroll and nicked his finger on a sharp bit of metal on his belt. He spread the scroll out on the ground before him and slid his blood across the first symbol on the scroll.

With a puff of smoke, a body appeared on the ground. With great care, the others with him transferred the corpse to one of the stretchers and covered it with a cloth. This was repeated until five bodies had been laid out and covered. Seven of the fourteen moved to lift the stretchers to carry them to the waiting graveyard. Deer and Boar lifted their teammate Raccoon. Shinji and Suki went to the one holding their teammate, Kenji. Shinji flinched as his wounded shoulder could barely take the strain but he bore the weight. A pair of chunin also took up their teammate. A lone chunin looked at his two fallen teammates and could not decide which to attend to.

Rooster had rolled up the scroll and motioned to his team. A pair of the ANBU stepped up to the foot of each and waited.

"Omi, they will travel side by side. You take the inside grips. I'll call the step when you are ready to proceed. Naruto, Sakura, attend to the front. One grip each please along the outside," Rooster instructed. Omi nodded and moved between the bodies of his friends.

The blond and pink haired genin quickly got into position as directed.

"Ready, Lift," the chunin instructed. The group lifted the stretchers and stepped to the gate in a slow cadence any military ninja would recognize. Once inside of the gate, the procession stopped and lowered the stretchers to the ground. The Hokage laid a headband over the covered forehead of each corpse as the stretchers past him. As the mission had been an undercover one, all the ninja involved had left their Konoha headbands in trust of the mission office. Also, in keeping with the undercover nature of the mission, there would be no formal recognition of the sacrifice of the five friends and teammates. In time their names would be placed on the memorial but not immediately. The fifteen living members of the mission team all tied their headbands in place on their foreheads. Even the ANBU members who rarely wore them had tied their own in place to honor their fallen comrades.

On the command of Rooster, the eleven stretcher bearers once more lifted their burdens and headed into Konoha. Rooster led the procession along with the most badly wounded member of the second ANBU squad. Yuugao and the final member of Rooster's squad trailed behind. Their slow march avoided the central market but ninja and civilians on business stopped and stood waiting in silence along the route the group travelled. The route was not packed but ninja even stopped along the eaves of the roofs overhead rather than jump across the path. Only once the procession had passed did they leap across to go about their business.

The procession stopped at the entrance to the graveyard where a dozen older ninja waited. They would take the fallen on from this point. They would prepare the bodies for services and burial by each respective family. The Wave team set their burdens down and stepped back. Once the fallen had been taken inside a small building just inside the cemetery, Rooster looked the people over.

"Formal debriefing will be this afternoon. Shinji, I can see you tore open the stitches on your shoulder so get that fixed up ahead of time. Dismissed," Rooster finished.

* * *

Later that evening after being released from debriefing, Naruto sat at Ichiraku's slowly eating a bowl of miso ramen with pork cutlet. The chef and his daughter were looking at the blonde boy since they had noticed the thoughtful look on his face.

"Teuchi-jisan, what do you know about a place called Uzushiogakure?" he asked after a long time.

The ramen chef looked puzzled for a moment as he had been taken by surprise with the question.

"I have heard the name before. All I know is that it was destroyed at some point. I am not sure which war though," he replied after thinking quickly.

Ayame looked confused at her father then back to Naruto who seemed even more off than he had been earlier.

"How about my family, Teuchi-jisan? Have you ever known or heard of anyone named Uzumaki before me?" Naruto pressed. His tone was slightly confrontational.

Teuchi looked down at the simmering ramen broth and stirred it.

"I really can't say," he said after a pause. "I've known and forgotten about a lot of people, Naruto. How about a ramen on the house?"

Naruto caught the hesitation and the choice of words Teuchi had used but refused to be distracted.

"You know something, Teuchi-jisan. Is it you don't know or you can't say?" Naruto said softly.

Teuchi looked at Naruto with sad eyes for a moment before going back to stirring his broth in silence.

"I see. Does your silence have a similar reason as knowledge about my tenant?" Naruto asked.

Teuchi gave the barest of nods. It could have simply been a twitch but Naruto knew better.

"I won't ask you again, Teuchi-jisan. Thank you," Naruto drank down the last of his bowl and left after handing Ayame a tip.

Once the blonde boy had gone, Teuchi walked into the back of the stand and placed his hands on the sink before lowering his head.

"Dad?" Ayame said to him after a few minutes.

"It is hard keeping secrets, Ayame. Just … don't ask about it," Teuchi said. "I'll be back out in a few minutes."

"Ok Dad," Ayame replied and went back to work.

* * *

Sarutobi Hiruzen had been waiting for this particular visitor all day. He was surprised that it had taken Naruto so long to arrive at his office. Less than a year before the boy would have been yelling for answers at the top of his lungs but training and experience had tempered the boy's exuberance somewhat. The old man could still see it within the boy but it was reined in and controlled now instead of simply running wild.

"Come in, Naruto. I've been expecting you," the old leader said before Naruto had even knocked.

Naruto almost lost his nerve at that but he gathered his courage to go up against the man he respected over all in the village.

"I think I know why you are here, Naruto. Rooster briefed me about your discoveries in the Wave Country."

Naruto nodded. "I have a lot of questions and I want to get answers for them for once. I know you never outright lied to me but you dodged them pretty well all of my life," he stated.

"Actually, I have 'outright lied' to you a number of times, Naruto. I needed to at the time. I am not proud of lying to a child but sometimes it is a necessary evil," the old man said with a sigh.

"Do you know who my parents were jiji?" Naruto asked straight out.

The Sandaime just nodded affirmatively.

"Will you tell me who they were, jiji?" Naruto asked straight out once more.

Naruto noted that he had never seen the Hokage look this old before. The old man sighed and blew out a puff of smoke from his pipe.

"Your entire life I have been hoping for the day I could tell you and everyone else who you truly are Naruto. But that also will bring about many changes both in how people see you and your future. Your parents had many friends and many enemies."

"So I had famous parents?" Naruto asked.

"Oh yes, Naruto. That is another danger to you. Their fame and in some cases infamy among other nations would change your life completely. There are people who would strike at you since they cannot reach you parents," Hiruzen said as he puffed his pipe once more.

"Old people in the Wave knew the name Uzumaki, jiji. It meant something to them. The ruins of Uzushio had this symbol all over them." Naruto pointed to the white swirl pattern on his left shoulder. "You gave it to me years ago when I asked during my Academy days. It's the clan symbol of the Uzumaki, isn't it?"

The old man nodded and replied, "Yes, it is. It is the symbol of your mother's clan."

"But children tend to be named after the father. Why my mother's clan?" Naruto asked.

"Your father's name would have had you dead within weeks of your birth, Naruto. He was a very powerful man and in some ways you look like him. If not for your face resembling your mother's face people would have seen your heritage long ago."

"Please, jiji. Tell me already. I have to _know_!" Naruto practically begged.

The Hokage slowly stood and went to stand before Naruto.

"Your mother was Uzumaki Kushina. She was indeed born in the Land of Whirlpool and Uzushiogakure before it was destroyed. She was brought here before that happened for other reasons but she met your father here. People called her the Fiery Red Habanero after her beauty, her attitude and her long flowing red hair."

"Your father had many names given to him by his enemies. But we called him Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage," the Sandaime said.

"The ... the Yondaime is my father?" Naruto stammered out. "But he, he did _this_ to me! What kind of father does that to a newborn baby?" Naruto yelled holding his stomach.

"A desperate one, Naruto. He didn't have much of a choice. Something happened just after you were born; the Kyuubi was loose and trying to destroy Konoha. Your mother was already dying and he could not let the beast destroy the village. I was not able to get to the actual sealing site due to a barrier your father erected but your parents were with you. I do not know the details of the sealing other than he used a jutsu that costs the life of the sealer; the Death Reaper Seal. If there had only been more time. Even a few hours of notice then something else might have been done. But there was no time for choices. In order to save the village, he had to sacrifice you. Moments afterward, the Shinigami ripped his soul away and has confined it within his stomach as the price of sealing away the Kyuubi. There is no afterlife for him. Just unending torment."

Naruto shuddered at the price his father had to pay and while he could not forgive the man just yet, he understood the steep price the man paid.

"Naruto, there is a lot more than what I have said. I think we should save it for another day so you can think about what I have already told you. I will not tell the village what I have told you. That is for you to decide," Sarutobi said after Naruto had sat quietly for a minute.

Naruto just nodded and wandered out of the office.

The Sandaime tapped a signal on the desk and instantly an ANBU operative was kneeling before him waiting for orders.

"Follow him but keep out of sight. Only do anything if there is trouble with anyone or he does anything stupid. Get a message to Yuugao and let her know to come see me in the morning," he ordered.

The operative nodded and departed.

* * *

Naruto wandered around the village as the evening gave way to night. He heard civilian parents calling in their children for dinner. He gave a sad and wry chuckle that he had never heard that even once directed at him. His parents were dead. He had known that since he was small. He had always kept some small spark of hope that maybe he did have a family out there somewhere; maybe an older sibling or uncles, aunts or cousins.

'No, no more hope of that,' he thought. The history he knew said that the Yondaime was an only child and there was no hidden older sibling for Uzumaki Naruto. His mother's village was destroyed and the few survivors scattered to the four winds. If any close relation survived he would never find them. For the first time in his life, the spark of hope of a real blood family was extinguished in Naruto.

After walking for hours, Naruto wound his way home. The unlocked door at the entrance to his building almost mocked him. No lights shone in any of the windows. It was a sharp reminder that he was alone. He simply lay down on his bed fully clothed. For the first time in years he allowed himself to cry tears of despair until he fell asleep.

* * *

Dawn had barely broken when Yuugao arrived at the Hokage's office. The Hokage looked at her over his desk before speaking.

"Last night I told Naruto of his heritage. I am sure you have a good idea of who they were. This information is still rated an S-class secret unless Naruto wishes for someone to know. Like the Kyuubi he holds it is his secret to tell who he wishes. As his teacher and team leader I am telling you so you can aid him. His parents were the Yondaime and his wife Uzumaki Kushina," Sarutobi said in a firm voice.

Yuugao nodded and spoke in a quiet voice.

"Yondaime-sama and Shippu-sama," she said.

"Indeed. While few knew of her professional alias you are quite correct, Yuugao. It seems ANBU lives up to the trust and vow of silence they maintain. Uzumaki Naruto's true heritage is known to a few dozen people at most. All were sworn to secrecy and many who know have tried to help him in his life. I am aware of your friend Hiro having been on her team and inform him he may speak of her to Naruto if the boy is willing to listen."

"I understand, Hokage-sama," Yuugao replied as she exited.

* * *

Naruto woke with a pounding headache. It took him a few seconds before he realized the pounding was on his front door. He dragged himself out of his bed and straightened his rumpled clothes as he stumbled to the door.

"What?" he grumbled out as he opened the door to find Sakura waiting wearing her ninja clothes.

"It took you long enough to answer," the pink haired girl grumped as she pushed past him into his apartment.

Naruto grumbled. "Gee, come on in and make yourself at home," he muttered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Thanks, I will," Sakura replied with a smirk. She looked around the place for the first time. Her only other visit inside the apartment itself had been the night they had gone down to Root. She avoided coming inside when she used the roof for her sunbathing. Her sharp eyes caught a few things that could use some cleaning but overall it was well kept for a teenage boy's apartment.

Naruto just looked as Sakura snooped around. He had to force himself not to stare at her butt in her somewhat tight pants when she bent over to look at something on a low shelf.

"So, what do you want Sakura?" he asked after he had enough of her being nosy.

"Well, you were bummed out most of our trip back so I figured I would see if there was a way to cheer you up. You look a lot nicer when you are smiling, Naruto. It feels wrong when you aren't," she stated.

"Not a whole lot of reason to be smiling lately," he commented dryly.

"No, there hasn't," Sakura said in a soft voice. "There's been a lot happening for us hasn't there?"

Naruto thought about the past nine months. Failing at his third attempt to pass. Getting captured in the Tower. Enduring the remedial training. Root. The night on the run from the Sand army. The trade mission to Wave and soon after the mission to rescue the daimyo there. Now the revelation about his heritage piling on top of all the doubts the last mission had risen in him.

To top it all off there were not a lot of other close people for either of them to turn to. The five weeks between the Root incident and the Sand/Sound battles had allowed the pair to reconnect slightly with old friends and schoolmates but that was months in the past. Ino was the closest person to Sakura but she was off in the Sand village indefinitely.

They had been through more than their friends had seen or imagined. They had killed and did not even know how many deaths could be attributed to them. The silence hung there between them until Naruto's stomach growled loudly.

Sakura giggled as Naruto blushed. Upon seeing the blush, Sakura burst out into loud laughter and fell back onto the couch. Naruto grumbled slightly at being laughed at as Sakura tried to control herself.

"Big serious moment then _growl_," she stammered out between chuckles.

"It's not _that_ funny," Naruto groused trying not to smile as well.

Sakura grinned. "Yes, it is," she said as she stuck her tongue out at her teammate.

Naruto narrowed his gaze at the pink haired girl before moving.

"Banzai!" he shouted as he pounced on the girl. His nimble fingers moved in at her waist and began tickling her. Sakura screamed in surprise before the tickle attack hit but was quickly subdued as more laughter rose from her mouth. She tried to fight Naruto off but she couldn't get the leverage. The pink haired girl then tried to roll off the couch to escape but Naruto held on to her waist. With a thud, Sakura found herself on the floor with Naruto lying on top of her.

Both teens paused panting as they looked at one another. The moment seemed to stretch out as blue eyes met green until something else made it's presence known. Sakura felt Naruto shift slightly then roll off of her. She closed her eyes for a moment before sitting up and seeing Naruto rush into his bathroom. She took a few slow deep breaths to recover from her laughing and was back to normal when she heard Naruto come back out.

"Um, sorry. Had to pee," he said lamely with the first excuse he could think of.

"Yeah, good move. Um, you want to go get some breakfast?" Sakura asked as she hoped the awkwardness and her hormones would subside doing something familiar.

"Yeah, breakfast sounds good," Naruto replied as he went to grab his frog wallet.

The blond teen knew they were off duty so he only grabbed his fanny pack holster as well before heading out of the apartment. Even an off duty ninja is never completely unarmed.

* * *

Naruto led them to a small restaurant nearby that was open early. He was on good terms with the owners so he had no worries about a bad meal. The old couple had been in Konoha since the early years of the Sandaime's reign and enjoyed serving the ninja of Konoha. The place seemed crowded for early in the day but tables were open. Naruto was startled to see a blonde teen a few years older than Sakura and him sitting there. The Sand headband around her neck and the empty tables around her told them much.

Naruto waved to the old man cooking and the man's wife came up with a smile.

"Ah, Naruto-chan, you're back in town. Was the mission a success?" she asked.

"Yes, it was," he replied simply.

"Good, good. Do you want your normal breakfast order?" she asked.

Naruto smiled. The old couple never asked ninja about mission details. All they asked was if it was a success or not before going about business.

"Sure, for Sakura as well," Naruto said smiling slightly.

Sakura gave Naruto a look before her told her.

"I ate here a lot in the mornings back in Remedial," he said.

The pair found a seat next to the blonde girl from the Sand village. The girl simply kept on eating with a blank look on her face. Sakura noticed the other girl's darker green eyes were hiding some pain and nudged Naruto. The boy looked over and nodded.

"Getting your jollies looking at me?" the girl asked in a low voice.

"No, I was noticing you were all alone and looked a bit lost and lonely," Naruto replied.

"You must be a part of the ambassador's team, right?" Sakura asked in a friendly manner.

The older blonde nodded keeping her face blank otherwise but she started to eat faster.

"My friend Ino went down to the Sand as a part of ours. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Haruno Sakura and this is Uzumaki Naruto," Sakura said with a smile.

The girl flinched a bit hearing the names but replied, "Sabaku no Temari."

The blonde lifted her head slightly to look over Naruto before speaking again.

"Why are you talking to me? No one else here wants anything to do with me," she said bluntly.

Naruto smiled. "You looked like you could use a friend," he replied.

Temari looked confused for a moment but shook her head.

"I would rather be at home with my old friends than here. At least there, people acknowledge I exist," she said softly. "I don't know how Gaara could take it."

Sakura looked at Naruto as his own pain flashed over his face for a moment.

"Gaara? The boy with the sand who was in the hospital with our friend Ino?" Sakura asked.

Temari nodded. "My youngest brother," she said.

"Well, we have a few days off. Would you like a tour of Konoha?" Naruto said with a broad smile.

Temari's face became guarded. "Why?" she questioned. She figured that she was a hostage of Konoha in spite of her freedom of movement.

"Um, because we can?" Naruto said.

Sakura elbowed her teammate in the ribs at his answer.

"Because we want to. There is no hidden agenda. We can even introduce you to a few of our other friends," Sakura offered with a smile of her own.

"Oh, go with them. Naruto is a nice boy. He won't try anything. Not unless you want him to. Neh?" the old woman said with a chuckle as she set plates of food in front of Naruto and Sakura.

"Baa-chan," Naruto complained as he blushed at the insinuation while the old woman walked off chuckling.

Temari smiled slightly for the first time since her arrival with the ambassador.

* * *

Hours passed as the trio walked around Konoha. Sakura pointed out the best shops for clothes and Naruto pointed out places that he knew would treat her well because they treated him well. Temari relaxed during the tour somewhat and her natural poise as the daughter of a Kage slowly returned. She was not arrogant but she no longer looked like she was waiting for something to happen.

The tour ended near the Hokage Tower and they ran into Team 10. Shikamaru, Choji and Tenten had just finished a D rank and were heading out to the training fields to wait for Asuma while he collected their payment.

Greetings were passed all around as the members of Team 10 had met the girl during the second stage of the Chunin Exams but never been formally introduced. Choji smiled and even stopped eating while they walked toward the training area as a group. Asuma caught up to them as they discussed mundane things.

"You know, I would not mind fighting you again," Choji offered. "You were distracted back during the Exams and I don't think I would have won otherwise."

"I'm not sure if I am allowed to do that," Temari said with a hesitation. "I was never really given much of an idea what I am allowed to do here. I thought until this morning I was simply a political hostage."

"You are not a hostage, Temari-san," Asuma spoke up. "The jonin council in Suna might have sent you here thinking that but it is not true. They had requested that Ino go to Suna to help your brother adjust and sent you here in her place. Konoha does not believe in hostages and you have only limited restrictions. You are free to train. If fact, a rematch with Choji might be something you want to try."

Temari felt a weight come off of her mind as Asuma told her this. She would get with the ambassador later and verbally lay into him for allowing her to think she was a hostage. Then, she grinned.

"I would love to try that."

* * *

Jiraiya looked at his informant. He grumbled that the information was accurate but he had missed Tsunade once more. Days before she had been in this very town trying to get more money from a lender. Unfortunately, the man had loaned her enough money to get to the next town in spite of his being in contact with Jiraiya. The white haired Toad Sage looked at the larger man before him and spoke softly.

"We had an agreement that you would not loan her any more money if I bought her old note from you, Saito," Jiraiya said.

The loan shark began to sweat. He knew in spite of his size he was out-classed by the Sannin in front of him.

"She found out someone was buying up her old debts. She came to me to find out if mine were bought up and then she threatened to break my arms and legs if I didn't tell her who was doing it," the large man whimpered.

"You told her about me wanting to find her," Jiraiya stated.

Saito nodded and flinched back as Jiraiya sighed.

"That just made it a lot harder for me to find her. If she knows I am looking for her then she will make an effort to hide from me," he growled under his breath.

"What about her new note?" Saito asked in a moment of stupidity.

Jiraiya arched an eyebrow at the loan shark.

"How much did she hit you up for?" he asked.

"100," the man said.

Jiraiya shook his head in disgust. Tsunade getting her hands on 100,000 would allow her to hide almost anywhere. The fact that she signed a note for it meant little but the woman would not outright steal someone else's money. The promissory note would never be paid but it allowed Tsunade to pretend she would pay it back someday.

"I'll give you 25 for it and since I am feeling generous _I_ won't break your arms and legs for going back on your word," Jiraiya growled out.

Saito fell to his knees and bent low to the ground in front of Jiraiya.

"Thank you for your mercy, Jiraiya-sama," the man groveled.

The loan shark's minions were shocked at the large man's behavior. The boss easily out-massed the white haired man by but he was groveling like he was the weaker man in the discussion.

Jiraiya waited patiently while someone brought out the paper Tsunade had signed and he counted out a number of large bills before laying them on the table. Jiraiya picked up the promissory note and left.

* * *

Naruto sat watching Shikamaru and Choji fight against Temari. They had been right and the girl was much better than her showing at the Chunin Exams had revealed. Tenten and Sakura sat nearby alternating their cheering when someone made a good move or attack. Tenten was paying close attention since her turn against Temari was next and she needed a counter for all of the Sand kunoichi's wind jutsu. Naruto tried to get into watching the fight but his mind kept returning to recent events.

His hero and ideal paragon of what a ninja should be was his father. He was also the man who inflicted the Kyuubi on him. How was he supposed to feel about that? On one hand he should be crowing to the heavens that _he_ was the son of the Yondaime. On the other was the fact that his life had sucked for the most part. Long years spent being ignored by people. He knew now why that was but not knowing then had left him confused and angry. He acted out to just get some kind of acknowledgement of his existence.

"Those must be some deep thoughts going on in your head, Naruto," Asuma broke in. "The others took off for lunch and I told them I would get you. Care to share what is weighing you down?"

Naruto looked up to see the training field was empty. Asuma had sat down next to him and was smoking a cigarette. The blond had been so caught up in his thoughts he had never noticed. 'Some ninja I am,' he thought.

"I'm not even sure I can talk about this, Asuma-sensei. All kinds of secrets and laws involved," Naruto said.

"Well, if they are certain secrets regarding you, the law says you can talk about anything you want. It's everyone else that is supposed to keep quiet," Asuma said with a chuckle.

Naruto sat still looking at the slow moving clouds passing by until he had to ask.

"What's it like having a famous father?" he asked the jonin.

"In general or relating to something people are not supposed to know?" Asuma queried.

"Um, secrets I guess. Jiji told me about my parents last night. Who they were and all," Naruto said slightly saddened.

"Oh! That one. Keeping that one secret has been hard on him. Hmm. Well sometimes having a famous father is a royal pain in the butt. First you have his reputation to live up to or even live down to. With me, I had the Sandaime; the Professor and God of Shinobi as my dad. People were expecting me to be a second coming of him. Even as a kid I never wanted that. I just wanted to be seen as Asuma, not the Sandaime's son. My nephew Konohamaru is the same way right now. Sure being a ninja is the family business and I never planned on being anything else but it was insane sometimes. I just wanted to be me."

Asuma chuckled again.

"We butted heads more often than not once I started my training. Dad had trained the Sannin and he figured he could do just as good a job with his son. I wasn't having any of that. I was good and all that but I felt I was so awesome with my dad being Hokage. He slyly had another team kick my team down into the ground to knock down my arrogance a peg. At the time, I was pissed and doubled my efforts. Eventually I just left and took up the offer from the Daimyo's ninja guards."

"But you know what, Naruto? Sometimes it is the best thing in the world. I mean, he's Dad. You can look at all the other kids and know 'My Dad is more awesome than their dad'. Sure he can do things that piss you off but at the end of the day, he is always trying his best to just be Dad." Asuma finished.

Naruto sat thinking for another few minutes. Then Naruto smiled and looked at the jonin.

"You dad is good but mine was way more awesome than him!" he practically shouted.

"Meh, as if. My dad is way better than yours. He had been Hokage longer than anybody else, like forever!" Asuma said intentionally rising to the bait with a grin.

"Well, my dad is the only ninja ever to have a SS rating in the bingo book. Flee on sight!" Naruto countered.

"Well, my dad had two Hokage's for teachers and trained the Sannin!" Asuma countered laughing.

Yeah, well my dad kicked the Kyuubi's butt!" Naruto offered up in s slightly softer voice.

"Well, hmm …," Asuma paused. "Ok, you win. Your dad is a smidge more awesome than mine, Naruto."

Asuma smiled at the blond boy who offered a weak smile of his own.

"Come on, they are likely wondering where we are and Choji is probably on his second tray of meat by now. My poor wallet," Asuma sighed.

Naruto stood and looked towards the mountain and the stone faces carved there then back to the bearded man next to him before saying quietly, "Thanks Asuma-sensei."

"No sweat kid. I think we both ended up with awesome dads," he said ruffling Naruto's hair as they set off toward the BBQ restaurant.

* * *

Next Chapter: Hunting the Sannin (for real this time)

* * *

End Notes:  
A brief interlude before the action starts back up once more. I had left too many things unresolved and wanted to tie them up before beginning the next arc. Asuma was a quality character I felt was badly underused in the manga and anime. I felt he would be a good sounding board and help for Naruto trying to deal with famous father issues.

Special Thanks To all my readers: 'Naruto: Captured' has blown past half a million page views. I greatly appreciate that so many people find my efforts worth reading.

Review Notes:  
The ending of the Wave arc was a little rushed but I had planned it that way. Gato had no legitimacy in holding the Wave and with the daimyo out in the open denouncng him, he decided to cut his losses and move out. Just like how many tyrants and dictators deal with situations like that in the real world. The Wave will be picking up the pieces for months off scene.

Regarding Gato getting away. You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run.

The old ninja in Uzushio will return at some point in the future. He will even get a name.

One comment a person made about Naruto and Sakura still routed into the military side. For the most part they are but as was said in several points. They appear to be on track to ANBU rather than obscurity. In the military sense, ANBU would fit into the warrent officer niche and upon leaving would be jonin (officer) afterwards.


	23. A Mission to Sand

**A Mission to Sand**

Jiraiya growled as he looked at the hotel manager. Tsunade had skipped town just this morning and gave no indication of her future travels. This was getting on his nerves. Even his toad summons were annoyed with him over his hunt. They preferred to either fight or lounge back on their mountain, not play find the runaway. He could only get one of Gamabunta's most recent spawning to regularly help out. However, Gamakichi was not even the size of a dinner plate and not much help. He liked adventure and there was little of that back on Mount Myoboku.

He needed a new plan and some help with this mission. When hunting, sometimes you needed beaters in the woods to flush the prey so that the hunter could easily capture it.

* * *

The meeting many of Konoha's Elite genin had been hoping for and dreading had arrived. The next classes of the Academy and the Military Training Center graduates would be finished soon and refill the ranks but now was the quarterly event they simply called 'Promotion Day.'

For the elite genin, promotion to chunin was solely based on two things; the Chunin Exams and the Hokage. The Chunin Exams were the public way. It was where the prodigies were showcased by villages to get more work. A promotion there was public and many military people referred to it as a 'below the zone' promotion. The Exams would rarely make more than three or four lucky individuals into chunin.

But for a total force numbering in the thousands it was not reasonable to make roughly ten chunin per year through the public Chunin Exams. Hundreds were needed each year. For the military side, it was mainly a formality to earn promotion. Do your job, prove your level of skill and have enough time in grade, get your commander's approval and you made chunin. Of course there were exceptions to that rule. One military genin named Maruboshi Kosuke would always turn down a promotion and was nearly as old as the Hokage. He had a standing offer to become Elite Jonin which he never took due to personal reasons.

The elites were in the meeting hall in the Tower and waiting as the Hokage entered. Carefully he looked over the youth and future of Konoha. Internally he sighed as most of the Elites before him were from important clans. He had not been from an important clan in his youth but he had been named Elite and trained under the Second Hokage. In turn he had taken a no name boy along with the class prodigy and the Senju Princess and forged them into the Sannin. How ironic that the only one still completely loyal to Konoha was the no name boy people mocked him for taking on.

"Good morning," Sarutobi began. "I hope all of you are well rested today as we have a lot to cover. Based on your jonin-sensei recommendations and my own evaluation of each of you I have the following promotions to announce along with team reassignments."

Sarutobi read off names starting with the oldest genin and working his way to the youngest and most recent class. Neji and Shikamaru both received promotions to chunin as their teams had expected. Only a few of the older teams were getting changed. There were one or two unhappy faces in the group but most had come in knowing who would be getting promoted today. Some of the oldest genin in the room were eighteen now and would likely be transferred to the military side quietly in a few weeks.

One could not remain a low ninja for that long without consequences. Sarutobi did not like having to force his ninja to choose between their career and their pride but he would not carry dead weight in the Elites. He knew several would have 'clan concerns' come up and drop into the reserves if they were dropped from Elite to normal status. Even that helped the village as those 'concerns' entailed the ninja to work in the clan's businesses, marry and continue the clans involved.

A puff of smoke appeared in the room and an orange toad dropped to the podium. If raised a webbed foot to wave and greet the Hokage but stopped when it saw dozens of weapons pointed at it.

"Yo," the toad whimpered out.

* * *

Shortly, the message the toad had brought was being read by the Hokage in his office.

The aged leader sighed as he read Jiraiya's letter. The mission to find Tsunade was a low paying job on the part of the Hyuuga clan but the reasons behind it had three trapped in a deadlock that was beginning to affect Konoha in general. The Hyuuga, the Inuzuka and the Aburame were all quite powerful in their own right. They also made some of the best tracker teams in the Elemental Countries when they worked together. But aside from a few individuals, two clans were practically at the throat of the third since the Hyuuga heiress was injured saving her teammates lives.

Sarutobi wished he could act without restraint against the Hyuuga elders who had brought this problem about by rejecting the injured girl as heiress simply because of her injury. Slowly he leaned to his desk and pulled out a small red notebook and began to read off the names listed on it, beginning with the infants and working up in age. Dozens of names later, his thoughts of killing were pushed back at the memories of what he had done the last time he was forced to step in when a clan's business would harm Konoha. The list of dead Uchiha was returned to its place in his desk having served its purpose once more.

He needed Tsunade to be brought back to defuse the situation. But she was slippery and would do her best to avoid hearing the direct order to return. Sarutobi then Minato had allowed her to wander the lands with the stipulation that she was to return if directly ordered to. Her avoidance of anyone associated with Konoha could be likened to a person avoiding a process server with a court summons.

Now, Jiraiya requested additional help so he would get it. But it would not quite be the help that he might have been expecting. He looked at his priority list for Elite jobs and made some assignments.

* * *

Shortly, several Elite teams departed Konoha. Most dashed off into the trees in haste to get their missions underway. One team ended up walking down the main avenue through the forest leading away from Konoha. Team Yuugao was relaxed as they almost sauntered off but their mission was a low priority one this time. They were on a 10 day mission to go to the Sand village to pick up the dispatches from the ambassador there. Yuugao was out in front while Naruto and Sakura walked side by side a half dozen or so paces behind her. They were back to wearing, what was for them, their now standard mission clothes.

Naruto still wore his dark gray version of his famous orange jumpsuit. He had tucked a gray kerchief under his headband that hung down over his bright yellow hair. Underneath the jacket, he wore the fitted chest piece of the body armor Yuugao had gotten for them preparing for the Wave mission. The rest of that particular outfit was sealed away in a small storage scroll tucked into a hidden pocket.

Sakura wore the Capri length pants that continued to distract Naruto. Tight enough to show her toned legs and buttocks but still easy to move in. The stretch weave of cotton and armored fibers tended to mold to the body but not hinder movement. The knees had padded inserts to protect them while her shoes still were the heavier men's style with the metal plates up the sides to protect her ankles and provide additional impact on her kicks her taijutsu favored. Her shirt was the same maroon as her battle dress she had worn in the Academy with the Haruno symbol high up between the shoulders. She also wore the ANBU style armor vest Yuugao had gifted them under her shirt. A number of thin scroll sleeves were over the breast area much like a Chunin vest had. The sleeves were close to the arms until the elbow then bloused out the rest of the way to her wrist to hide small blades or shuriken. The fabric would hang down to her knuckles when she allowed her arms to be at her sides. Fingerless gloves with thick leather over the knuckles covered her hands.

Both Naruto and Sakura had their kodachi slung over the backs in a position that was easy to draw and fight with if needed. Dual weapon pouches hung behind each hip for them. They had learned the hard way that one might not be enough during the flight in the forest running from the Sand ninja. Dark colored tape around their thighs helped secure the kunai holsters on the right thigh of each.

Yuugao chuckled slightly at the preparation her team had put into a simple delivery and pickup mission but she understood and approved. They were walking into the very village that held the families of ninja they had killed or wounded in their flight before the Invasion That Wasn't. She was keeping a lookout but the teens gave off the appearance that they were merely bored. A flash to one side alerted her too late to do anything besides draw her own sword.

The sound of steel hitting steel sounded out. Yuugao noticed a jonin standing beside Naruto with his sword being parried as Sakura stepped out sideways and back in to bring hers up to the man's throat.

"You're dead, Sensei," she said with a slight smile as she addressed her sword master and Yuugao's boyfriend Hayate.

The jonin chuckled. "Well done, you both reacted well," he stated. "Good job using a parry and not a block, Naruto. Why choose a parry?"

"Because a block would have pinned my weapon and I would not be able to counterattack," Naruto replied with knowledge her had learned the hard way; being beaten down by Hayate.

"The Hokage asked for me to accompany you, Yuugao," he informed the team leader. "There might still be tension with the Sand as far as these two are concerned. He also felt the desert air might help my cough."

Yuugao smiled wryly. Of course the Old Man would say that last bit. This was a C ranked mission that would have been a D rank if it had not left the village. Plus ten days for a six day round trip meant he was essentially sending them on a vacation. Having her boyfriend along just made this trip a whole lot nicer.

* * *

Far to the east, Team 8 hurried to their meeting with Jiraiya.

* * *

Team Yuugao plus one had taken up tree running once the broad avenue had ended. The route they followed was well traveled and paralleled a trade road but they did not go down the open road. Yuugao felt that a mission should be treated as a mission at all times and her students just nodded and went 'on duty'. The mindset was a trained response they learned to do what needed doing first and deal with the aftermath later.

They found the reason for the serious nature of their leader soon enough as they recognized a few landmarks. They were close to the starting point of their run. Sakura figured correctly the reason why the Hokage had done this and sent along Hayate as an extra jonin when it was not needed for the mission. The Old Man was looking out for his ninja and letting the teens deal with any underlying issues from their actions a few months prior in a controlled way. Yuugao did not comment on anything as they passed through the region but noted that Hayate had moved to a trailing position to keep an eye on her students.

She smiled inwardly as the kids had passed the test and said nothing more on it. The group passed out of the Land of Fire and into the Land of River with no issues and rested overnight under the stars.

* * *

The Land of Rivers was aptly named. The country was downstream from the Land of Rain and all the water had to go somewhere. The land was too rocky to take full advantage of the water passing through but the team still passed fields wherever the land allowed. The country had no ninja village of its own but it was heavily traveled by Leaf, Sand, Rain, Grass and Rock ninja. The Team kept alert as on occasion fights would break out if a ninja with a vendetta against another village would attack without warning. Bounty hunters also prowled the land as missing ninja would be looking for work in country like this.

The team paused at a trade town near the River / Sand border early in the day to rest and resupply. Hayate decided to room with Yuugao so the teens ended up sharing a room in separate beds. They looked at each other and chuckled but simply went to sleep. Hayate and Yuugao seemed to be a bit tired the next morning but happy. They left mid morning for the border.

* * *

The trees thinned out as the land rose away from the rivers. The team was forced down to the ground as open plains with scattered bushes became the distinguishing feature away from the rivers. The team stopped just over the border and started walking. Yuugao merely signaled to the teens that she would do all the talking when they were contacted. Minutes later, a Sand patrol arrived. One person approached while the rest remained a distance away. Yuugao pulled out the mission orders and the diplomatic pouch they would be delivering to display the sealed package to the patrol. The patrol left Yuugao with a token to carry and departed.

Once they were far enough away, Yuugao signaled permission to speak to the team.

"What did they give you Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"It is kind of like that necklace from the Wave, Naruto. The patrol ninja puts a small chakra charge into the token that dissipates after a few days. It allows patrols further in to see that we have been met and approved to continue on our way deeper into the country. We will always be considered a threat as we are foreign but less of one as we have a mission to the Sand village itself and we came in openly," Yuugao explained.

Soon the land shifted to more desert conditions and grass became sparse. The dirt became sand and they could see dunes rising in the distance. After a lifetime surrounded by trees, the open desert seemed to go on forever in a manner that the ocean at the Wave country had not. The sky had few clouds and even seemed bigger to Naruto. For the first time in his life, Naruto felt … small. This brought to mind his other recent troubles.

A nudge from Sakura pulled him from his thoughts.

"You're not paying attention, Naruto," she muttered to him.

"Sorry," he replied.

"You've been spacing out a lot the past couple of weeks, anything you can talk about?" the pink haired girl asked.

Naruto thought for a minute as they continued in silence. He signaled to Yuugao a request to take a rest break. After their teacher approved, the team sat in the only shade they could find after making sure it was secure.

"You remember all the Uzumaki stuff and Uzushio ruins back in the Wave? Well, after we got home, I talked to the Old Man about it. He knew he could not keep it a real secret or distract me any longer so he told me about my parents," Naruto said in a quiet voice.

"Oh," Sakura said in a small voice as well. "I guess they were ninja?"

"Both my parents were. He only told me who they were but nothing about them as people yet. I guess he didn't want to overload me. He implied a lot more was going on at the time too. My mom was an Uzumaki named Kushina. I got her name after they died. My dad …," here Naruto paused.

"My dad was the Yondaime," Naruto finished in a rush.

Sakura just looked at Naruto for a bit. Partly in shock at the information; partly to look at him and see if she could see anything of the few pictures of the Fourth would match what she could see of Naruto. The hair, yes. The eyes maybe, but his face looked nothing like the face on the mountain.

"Wow, that is something pretty big," she finally replied.

Naruto nodded. "It's been bugging me since I found out. I wanted to tell you but it was just so big a secret for so long. My hero is my dad."

"There are worse people to be your hero, Naruto. Are you sure you should be talking about it to me?" Sakura said with a small chuckle.

"The Hokage said I could tell anyone I wanted to. But that creates a whole new problem. Who can I trust with it? A few people knew and were sworn to secrecy. Sensei knows, Old Man Teuchi knew but he had to keep quiet. I think it bothered him some not being allowed to tell me. Him and Ayame always treated me nice and I don't think Ayame even knows. I want people that want me around as Naruto before they want me around as the Son of the Fourth, you know? You've seen Konohamaru and how he gets when he tries to be himself, not the Honored Grandson. Now, I have that kind of fake respect waiting for me but none of it is mine! It is all respect my parents earned and I just happen to be their kid," Naruto said as he hung his head.

Sakura reached over and lightly bonked Naruto on the head.

"Baka," she said in a kind voice. "Your friends will see you for who you are. Choji and Shikamaru wouldn't care in the least. Choji would eat, Shika would call it troublesome. Ino might squeal like a fan girl at first but get over it. As for me, you're my teammate, my best friend and someone I trust with my life. You are Uzumaki Naruto and who your parents are does not define who you are. You stay all moopy like this and I am going to have to start smacking you around again, got it?" she finished with a smirk.

"Thanks Sakura," Naruto finally smiled back at her as they sat for a few more minutes in silence.

"You done being all weepy and sensitive?" Hayate called out.

Naruto grumbled at that and was tempted to retort but instead just got up and brushed off the sand to continue their journey.

* * *

Sakura had figured something was special about Naruto after the Wave beyond his being jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. If the Uzumaki had been held in such esteem in what was the Whirlpool country, his parents must have been important people to have been kept a secret like that. She did not think of the Yondaime as a possibility but looking at things now with the information in mind, she could see it clearly. The whys and wherefores did not matter to her. Naruto had become her friend like she claimed and she would stand by him.

* * *

Custom dictated that visiting ninja walk openly the last few miles to the gates of another village. It was a twofold purpose. It allowed the defenders to know they were not hostile and allowed the local leaders to get an appropriate welcome set up. A jonin waited near the gate for them and examined the letter Yuugao presented for delivery of the diplomatic package.

"The embassy is in the civilian districts. Your team will be accorded diplomat status and be allowed to travel in the civilian parts of Suna without escort. If they stray into restricted areas unescorted, they will be warned once and a second occurrence will forfeit diplomatic protection. Is this understood?" the jonin asked.

All four team members replied they understood and were escorted into the village and to the embassy. Once inside, Sakura was bowled over by a blonde yelling "Forehead!"

Sakura looked up at the blonde teen lying on her. "Um, you're not my type Piggy. Get Off."

Ino let go of her friend and stood with an excited grin on her face.

"It's good to see you, both of you," Ino said smiling at both Sakura and Naruto. "The people here are soooo serious all the time. We need to talk, bye Naruto," Ino said as she dragged Sakura deeper into the embassy.

Sakura smiled back at her long time friend as she was dragged along. It was gossip time.

Naruto chuckled slightly as one of the staff directed him to a room where he could wash up and refresh himself. Yuugao and Hayate parted ways with him to visit with the ambassador. They would be there for three days while the ambassador dealt with the package and assembled his return one.

Once he had washed up and taken care of his weapons and uniform, Naruto headed back to the common areas of the embassy. He found Ino and freshly washed up Sakura waiting for him there. It was close to dinner time so Ino dragged the pair out of the embassy into the village for dinner. They left their swords and most of their weapons behind but kept their thigh holsters and one or two hidden weapons. It was a hostile place but by treaty they were not to be attacked.

Ino pointed out places to eat and shop nearby. The blonde girl had changed her outfit to suit the desert. She wore a light purple robe and a hat to keep off the sun. Sakura noted most of the locals were robes of some type with only ninja or foreigners wearing pants. But the ninja also tended to wear tunics that extended to the upper thighs. Naruto walked behind the pair of girls as Ino was clinging to Sakura's arm as she dragged her friend along. He kept looking around as well but soon noticed a trend. People would turn and look at Sakura after she passed them. At first he thought it was due to her pink hair standing out but he quickly realized they were looking a bit lower.

He flushed as he understood they were checking her out. Her tight pants and moving hips were the only ones on display as the local women all were wearing robes. Naruto grumbled as a combination of protective instincts and jealousy washed over him.

* * *

Dinner was tasty and very spicy. Naruto chose some kind of curry and a pepper called a habanero was involved in the making of it. Naruto smiled as that as the Hokage had said his mother's nickname was Fiery Red Habanero. At least he now had a frame of reference for what a habanero was.

* * *

Once back at the embassy, Naruto stopped Ino before she could rush off with Sakura for an extended gossip session. He mentioned how the locals were all checking out Sakura and one portion of her anatomy in particular. Ino nodded knowingly. She would take care of it. She had been dealing with the locals for months. She smirked to herself as she felt Naruto sounded jealous.

Nothing else was said on the matter to Naruto but the following morning, Sakura walked into the embassy dining hall with Ino from an early bout of shopping. She was wearing her normal uniform but had added a partial apron skirt in maroon that hung from her waist over her buttocks to her upper thighs in back but left the front alone. She looked over at Naruto and smirked slightly before whispering 'thanks' in his ear.

Naruto just blushed and mutter back 'welcome'.

That afternoon, Ino had taken the pair shopping once more. Naruto noticed a lack of overt leering at Sakura's hindquarters this time and felt slightly pleased with himself. The day passed by pleasantly as he ended up carrying the purchases the girls made. Late in the afternoon, the trio headed back toward the embassy when something occurred.

The ninja of the Sand had been noticing the trio all day but none had said or done anything to them. But that ended when a genin looked directly at Naruto. The older genin gasped slightly and backed away shaking from the blond teen.

"It's you!" he cried out. He glanced at Sakura next and began to quake in fear. "And her!"

Ino looked confused as the shouts drew a lot of attention to the Leaf ninja.

The Sand genin was now in a complete panic attack as he pulled out a kunai and attacked Naruto.

Naruto tossed all the packages to one side as he dodged right away from the blade the genin stabbed at him with. The boy turned and hurled a second blade underhanded at Naruto from short range. Naruto was forced to dodge once more. The blade flew into the crowd nearby and a scream of pain was heard as a civilian was struck. Naruto then knocked the genin down with a solid right cross followed by a chop to the neck.

Sakura quickly noticed what was going on but kept back as there was only one attacker. She scanned the crowd for threats as she tried to steer Ino back from the fight. Her efforts were in vain as both girls were pushed from behind into the open space the knife fight had created by two additional Sand genin. Ino managed to scramble out of the way and awkwardly got to her feet in her robe but she was pulled back by some civilian women who thought she was one as well.

Two Sand genin followed Sakura into the circle and both pulled blades. They lunged at her while she defended herself. In moments a full fledged melee was developing in the marketplace as more Sand genin and a few chunin joined into the attack. Naruto and Sakura were both pushed back to back and surrounded by angry ninja. The pair flowed in defense as they fended off attackers and sent them back reeling. A few thrown kunai were knocked to the ground as a dodge would hit the teammate in the back if they did so.

"Your three, chunin coming in open," Sakura called out to Naruto who kicked out and felled the woman with a kick to the abdomen.

"Flipping overhead," Naruto called back as he used a judo throw on a diving attacker to send the man flying over Sakura into another attacker. The fight continued for almost a minute like this. So far they had been lucky and no one had started any jutsu but the way the fight was expanding that would happen soon.

Without any warning a wall of sand rose up around the Leaf ninja. All the Sand ninja involved in the fight found that any limb they had touching the ground gripped by sand as well.

"What is going on here?" a raspy voice called out. A red haired teen walked into the area with a large sand gourd on his back.

"Gaara!" called out Ino happily as she freed herself from the civilian women and ran to the boy.

"Well?" Gaara asked as he glared at the ninja.

Several of the Sand ninja pointed at the sand in the center as if to say 'they started it'.

Gaara grunted as he gestured and the sand surrounding Naruto and Sakura fell. The pair still stood ready to defend themselves.

"Everyone stand down!" came a voice from the security forces as they pushed through the crowd. Gaara looked at them and snorted as he looked directly at Naruto.

"What was happening here?" he asked in his rough voice.

Naruto bowed his head slightly in respect before speaking.

"Sakura, Ino and myself were doing some shopping and that guy screamed and attacked me," he said as he pointed to the original attacker. "I tossed the packages over there." Naruto gestured to a spot that was empty of anything so he paused for a moment. "Packages which have seemed to have vanished"

"Where are the packages?" Gaara said in a loud voice.

As if by jutsu several packages seemed to materialize at the edges of the circle. They were lifted by sand into a pile at Ino's feet.

"Is that _all_ of them?" Gaara asked in a dark tone. Three more bags appeared which were then lifted to Ino.

"Continue," commanded Gaara.

"He came at me and threw a kunai which hit someone over there," Naruto pointed to a spot with several people gathered around a wounded civilian. Sand lifted a bloody kunai and brought it to Gaara. The teen looked at it and nodded.

"Continue," he said in a less demanding tone.

"He kept screaming and attacking me and some others began to join in. They pushed my teammate into the fight and we kept defending ourselves. We were not trying to hurt anyone but a few of our attackers might need medical attention," Naruto said pointing at a few downed Sand ninja.

Gaara nodded and looked at the security squad before the genin that started the fight was dragged over by the sand holding him.

"Explain," Gaara commanded the genin.

The still panic stricken genin kept looking back and forth from Gaara to Naruto and Sakura.

"It's THEM," he finally stammered out.

"What about them?" Gaara demanded.

"Them. From the forest in the Land of Fire! They were on _that team_!" he finally stammered out. The statement generated a murmur in the crowd.

"The Red Monster! Don't let it get me!" the genin screamed in blind panic once more as he managed to break away from the sand and fled through the crowd.

"Uh oh," muttered Sakura. "This could be trouble."

* * *

**Story / Plot Note:** I had one plot planned out but it was not going anywhere in my writing so I delayed that part of the story. This is not exactly filler but rather a shifting around of the sequence I originally planned for. The Sannin hunt will happen in time.

A minor plot hole was repaired in Chapter 2. I had listed Kakashi as one of the viewers of Naruto being tested but I had him doing something else and being ignorant of Naruto's status later in the story. To solve this I changed the viewer to Tenzo / Yamato

* * *

Notes regarding Naruto and Sakura's relationship in 'Captured':

While I am not planning on linking them romantically, I have pulled a number of intimate incidents between them. They have trained together under external duress (Chap 4), beaten each other bruised and bloody and seen each other naked in the showers (Chap 8), fled from certain death against superior forces (Chap 13), and fight in a second battle when badly outnumbered (Chap 19-21). Sakura alone has been captured and tortured (Chap 14), had a purchase offer made on her (Chap 17) and had two encounters with Naruto being smacked by the Puberty Fairy and perking up in her presence (Chap 6 & 22). Naruto has shared deep personal secrets with her, being the Kyuubi container (Chap 16) and his parentage (Chap 23) along with said Fairy causing the boy much distraction during training (Chap 18).

The idea of Naruto becoming aroused around Sakura is in truth normal for a 13 yr old boy. It happens and Naruto being embarrassed over it is normal as well. That does not mean I am planning; to paraphrase the Bard; planning on making the beast with two backs with him and his pink haired teammate. He merely had a stray thought or sensation and his body reacted as any normal healthy teen's body would. Again, it happens.

Right now, their relationship is that of closest of friends and 'war buddies'. Someone you would trust with your life and be trusted with theirs. Guys call it any number of things. The fact that the other is boy and girl is always an undercurrent of awareness but still a secondary issue and will remain so. Any perceived romance in that is strictly in the mind of the reader (cutting room floor omake citrus notwithstanding) as the writer is using normal things from teenage hormones for best effect…For Now.


End file.
